Bloom: Fresh Devotionals For Girls Part TwoНамуна

Peer Pressure

“C’mon, everyone’s doing it!” 

“You’re not going to be lame, are you?” 

“I knew it! You are such a drag!”

Have you heard lines like these, or have you said similar ones? These words fall into the category of peer pressure. Peer pressure is trying to force someone to make a choice for the sake of fitting into the crowd. This type of pressure doesn’t give people the space to make the right decisions for themselves, and it can quickly turn dangerous. 

Today's scriptures say hanging out with bad friends ruins your reputation (even if you have a good one!) and that the world’s pattern isn’t the one we should be following.

As children of God, we are called to be different. Those who try to fit in and give in to peer pressure find themselves doing or saying things they know aren’t right. In order to fit in with the crowd, these people disobey God. Often times, it’s impossible to please both people and God. 

If we constantly try to fit in and give in to peer pressure, we can’t follow God’s commands at the same time. We can’t do both, so we must choose.

God created something beautiful when He created you—something unique and wonderful that had never existed before in the history of the world. Don’t sell out to be a copy of someone else. Be who God created you to be and follow His commands. 

You never know...your courage to say no to peer pressure may give someone else the courage to say no, too.

What about me?

Have you faced peer pressure before? Was it easy or hard to deal with? Ask God for His help to listen to His plan for your life instead of leaning into other people's opinions and ideas.