Teens & Peer Pressure

Teens & Peer Pressure

By Joel B.

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Friends, teens, today I’m going to talk to you about peer pressure. What is peer pressure? It’s when you feel the urge to do things you wouldn’t otherwise do, but feel compelled to do so because others are telling you to do them. This, of course, is destructive because many times friends will try to get you to do the wrong things. They may even try to trick you into doing things you wouldn’t otherwise do to see if it is safe for them. Let’s look at some examples:

Example #1: Curt’s Curfew

Curt knows 10 pm is his curfew, but his friends tell him he needs to go to the party because it is “slammin.” They tell him he won’t be very late, and his parents will probably be asleep and never notice.

Possible consequences:

Curt goes to the party and has a “few too many to drink”. He also ends up spending some time with a girl who is not his girlfriend. Curt doesn’t realize it, but his parents didn’t go to sleep. They are awake and worried sick. Curt’s friends also took pictures at the party and his girlfriend finds out he was “chillin” with someone else. He loses the “trust factor” with his parents and his girlfriend. He has gained nothing but some trouble.

What should have happened:

Curt should have been responsible and went home on time. There will always be another party to go to and relationships with family and other loved ones are more important than compromising our integrity. Curt needed to dig deep and avoid the peer pressure.

Example #2: Daphne’s Dilemma

Daphne loves perfume and her friends know it. They’re at the local department store and they see a box of expensive perfume that happens to be Daphne’s favorite. They don’t have the money to buy it. Daphne’s friends tell her to “just take it, and that “nobody will notice one bottle missing.”

Possible consequences:

Daphne slips the bottle into her purse and she’s not only caught by the store camera, but the alarm goes off from a merchandise tag attached to the bottle. Daphne is “BUSTED!” Not only does Daphne have to pay for the bottle, but other people from her school witness the bust and nobody wants to trust her at school. Daphne is restricted from shopping at the department store ever again, which happens to be the only local store that sells her favorite perfume.

What should have happened:

Daphne should have told her friends that “It’s not my style”, and moved on. Now she can not shop for her favorite perfume locally. Doing this would also have set a good example for her friends and also helped her to set a Christian example to others. Now it’s going to be hard for her to witness to others if she can’t be trusted.

A Final Word

In closing, I just want to say don’t let others guide your steps, especially if you know they’re telling you the wrong things to do. Let Christ guide your steps. Stay safe. Thank you for reading and God bless.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.