Earlier this year, I travelled to another country on a wide-bodied Boeing Dreamliner carrying about 250 passengers. After 7 hours of transit, we arrived at our destination airport to a warm and pleasant atmosphere. While taking in the beauty and architecture of the environment, something happened that stirred a deep reflection in my heart.
As we disembarked from the aircraft, we needed to take an escalator into the arrival terminal toward Passport Control. Directly ahead were two working escalators, yet almost everyone — myself included — instinctively moved toward the one on the left. I was halfway through the ride when it occurred to me that the second escalator was also functioning perfectly and going in the same direction. To an observer, it would have been puzzling why nearly all of us crowded onto one escalator while the other stood almost empty, waiting to be used.
What happened was simple: we followed the first person without thinking or questioning. This was a practical demonstration of a cognitive bias known as the Bandwagon Effect — the tendency to adopt a behaviour, belief or trend simply because others are doing it. This phenomenon can be good or bad depending on what is being followed, but my reflections took me to a scriptural example involving Jesus and His disciples after His resurrection
In John 21, Peter and six other disciples were at the Sea of Tiberias. Peter said, “I am going fishing,” and the others replied, “We are going with you.” This was just days after their Master had been crucified, yet Peter was already leading the team back into his former occupation. It was a vivid example of the same effect.
The Israelites demonstrated a similar tendency in 1 Samuel 8:5 when they said, “Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” They wanted what everyone else had, rejecting God as their King, they chose the common over the personalised.
However, knowing God beyond His acts demands a personalized walk with Him. His ways are revealed through deep, individual dealings. As the Psalmist said, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” Walking with God requires more than what is popular or commonly practiced. It goes beyond weekly gatherings; it requires a pursuit that draws one into personal intimacy with Him.
To be clear, my point is not to promote the extreme view of abandoning the assembly of the brethren, nor am I endorsing the mindset of “every man for himself; only God knows those who serve Him.” Not at all.
Jesus offers a different perspective. Escaping the bandwagon effect is not about isolating oneself or becoming totally independent. Surprisingly, it is about becoming more dependent — being carried. It is not an independence mindset; it is a yielded one.
In John 21, Jesus said to Peter, “When you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
In the Kingdom, true independence is found in being carried by the Holy Spirit — yielding one’s will and opinions to Him.
This means every popular opinion, trend, or ideology must be weighed by the Spirit. Whatever He does not approve of should not be touched with a ten-foot pole. Popularity is not proof of His approval, just as being an outlier is not automatically a badge of truth.
With the growing mix of thoughts, opinions and doctrines around us, the believer can only judge accurately by allowing the Spirit to have the final say. Question things, but let the Spirit remain the ultimate judge. Anything that does not align with Scripture — regardless of how intelligent or appealing it seems — is simply a disaster waiting to unfold.
I believe that if we submit every decision to this posture, we will live prosperous and impactful lives.
God bless our hearts
Dami Awosanmi
LinkedIn: @Awosanmi-Damilola
Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The PowerPoint Tribe.