I’m not here to preach a sermon, but I’m not shy about calling out the mess we keep making with our choices. The biblical scene - Pilate offering a release to the crowd between Jesus and Barabbas - has hung around in my head for years. It’s not just a historical curiosity. It’s a mirror. A brutal, undeniable mirror of how we vote, how we pick leaders, and how often we repeat the same damn mistakes because they feel familiar, or because we’re too scared to demand better.
Let’s get real: the crowd in Pilate’s court wasn’t choosing between flawless options. They were choosing between a radical prophet and a violent thief. One promised mercy and change; the other promised more of what they already tolerated. And yet they chose Barabbas-with-a-cheap-mask of “justice” and “strength,” because it told them what they wanted to hear in their moment of fear. Sound familiar? How often do we, in the voting booth, pick someone who confirms our prejudices, or who gives us a quick adrenaline rush instead of a careful plan? How often do we mistake loudness for leadership, and outrage for progress?
Now, some will say: “But I’m not responsible for the crowd.” Tell that to the mirror you’ve been avoiding. The verse isn’t just a religious parable; it’s a social warning. It’s the oldest celebrity endorsement - the loudest voice wins, even when that voice is selling you a version of you that you dislike later. And here we are, two millennia later, still choosing the “thief” over the “Messiah” in our own arenas: elections, policies, leaders who promise to solve every problem with a slogan instead of a strategy. We vote for people who reflect our worst traits - short-termism, fear, tribalism - because those traits feel familiar and safe. The real danger isn’t bad candidates; it’s our readiness to settle for them.
I’m tired of the universal principle being used as a corner-store mantra: “You attract who you are.” If that’s true, then the real question is what kind of “you” are you becoming when you walk into the ballot box? Are you cultivating courage or convenience? Integrity or impulse? Are you willing to demand hard truths from the people who want your vote, or do you settle for the polished lie that sounds like progress?
I’m not claiming political purity is possible or even desirable. But I am insisting that we should expect ourselves to do better. If we want to stop voting for the Barabbas in our own lives, we need to stop worshipping the Barabbas in the world. We need to ask tougher questions: What are the long-term consequences of this policy? Whose voices are being silenced or erased? Who benefits from the status quo, and who bears the cost? Are we voting for security or for the possibility of something genuinely better?
I want to see voters who resist the easy ritual of choosing the loudest option and instead choose the most honest, the most responsible, the most difficult. I want us to recognize that the “you create and attract” principle isn’t a punishment; it’s a call to accountability. If we’re unhappy with the outcomes, we should start by shaping the kind of voters and citizens we want to be. Let’s stop feeding the crowd’s hunger for quick, comforting narratives and start demanding leaders who earn our trust, not flatter our fears. It won’t be painless, and it won’t be immediate, but it’s the only way to stop casting the same old “thieves” in the role we pretend are saviors.
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