Peer pressure can be a very strong influence for sin. School-aged children are taught to overcome peer pressure and to not follow the crowd when their friends are doing things that they should not do. But despite the continual admonitions, many children ignore these warnings and do what is wrong so that they can fit in. The Proverb writer warned against this very thing.
“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent” (Proverbs 1:10).
While these warnings are good and necessary for our children, we should not limit our instruction about this to that specific age group. All people, regardless of age, can be tempted in this way. Paul warns the brethren in Corinth about this.
“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals’” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
Paul does not give this instruction to just one group of Christians. It is for all followers of Christ. Each one of us needs to guard against the temptations that come through peer pressure. It is a serious problem. We find a couple of examples in the New Testament that show the powerful influence of peer pressure toward evil.
“After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, ‘This man was with Him too.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him.’ A little later, another saw him and said, ‘You are one of them too!’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’
“After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, ‘Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
“The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, ‘Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:55-62).
Peter was very bold to declare to Jesus, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” (Luke 22:33). This was just a little while before he denied the Lord three times. What changed so quickly? He was in a different crowd. While with Jesus and his fellow disciples, he was confident and ready to suffer for Christ. But when he was surrounded by those who were not fellow disciples, among a group who would not claim allegiance to Christ, he denied the Lord. There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of Peter’s earlier claim to Jesus that he would be faithful no matter what. But we see that a crowd hostile to truth and righteousness, like the one Peter found himself in and the ones we will find ourselves in today, is a powerful influence to sin.
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy” (Galatians 2:11-13).
Unfortunately, it is not just a worldly group of people who can pressure us to sin. At times our own brethren can influence us to sin as well. Even Barnabas, a faithful and strong Christian, was led into sin by his brethren. We must always be on our guard. Just because someone is a faithful Christian, that does not mean that he cannot fall into sin. If we let our guard down, we can easily follow him into sin as well.
Regardless of the source, people in the world or our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must guard against falling into the snare of peer pressure.
We need to be willing to give up associations that hinder our walk with Christ. Notice the sobering words of Jesus:
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:34-37).
Jesus is not saying that He would divide all families across the board. But He is demanding total allegiance, even if that means choosing Him over our own family members. If there is ever a conflict and a choice to be made between pleasing our family and pleasing our Lord, we must choose to please Christ every time.
Paul expresses this same attitude in writing to the churches of Galatia:
“For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
Who are we going to try to please? If we are trying to please men, then like Paul, we cannot be a servant of Christ. We have to make that choice. To follow the crowd and succumb to peer pressure prevents us from being able to serve the Lord as He demands.
We need to give up the desire for popularity and acceptance from our peers, no matter how old or young we are. The way of Christ is not a popular path. This lesson is repeatedly given throughout the New Testament.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
“You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved” (Matthew 10:22).
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).
“For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you” (1 Peter 4:3-4).
Notice what Peter says in the last passage above. If you are a Christian and living as you should as a Christian, people will notice that you are different. Some have the concept that Christians essentially are no different than the world except for the fact that we have been forgiven. This is false. Christians are different. We act, talk, and think differently than the world. This is expected of us if we want to follow Christ.
Dare to Stand Like Joshua
After Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, defeated their enemies, and divided up their land, he addressed them for a final time. They were at a crossroads. God had delivered them into the land. But the ones who had led them would soon be gone. He encouraged them to choose for themselves to serve the Lord.
“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).
Joshua wanted the Israelites to make the right choice. But regardless of what their choice would be, his mind was already made up. He and his household would serve the Lord, even if every other family decided to serve foreign gods. He was not going to be pressured into sinning against the Lord.
We need to have the same mentality as Joshua. In each and every decision in which we must choose between right and wrong, our decision has already been made. No matter what others decide, we are going to do what is right.
Summary
Pressure from one’s peers can be a powerful influence to lead one to sin. You need to recognize that this is a problem for all ages – not just for the young. To overcome peer pressure, you must put Christ ahead of all others. Make the decision to do what is right before and without others having to decide first.
This material is taken from the book, The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome, published by Gospel Armory, © 2010.
