NEGATIVE PEER PRESSURE ~ Precious Victor Akah
Two kids (a boy and a girl) were instructed by their respective mums not to eat from a box of chocolate until they were back. But just almost immediately their mums left, the girl dipped her hand into the box, took some chocolate and began eating. The boy had tried to stop her from eating the chocolate when he saw her reaching for it, reminding her the instruction of their mums to wait for them to come back before they could eat the chocolate, but she ignored him and went ahead to eat from the box of chocolate, so the boy left her alone.
The little girl continued to eat from the box of chocolate, she even tried to entice the boy to join her to eat the chocolate by showing him how tasty and enjoyable the chocolate is, but the boy resisted the enticement and waited patiently for his mum to come back. After some minutes, their mums came back, and when the mother of the boy realized her boy did not eat the chocolate but waited for her to come back, she was overjoyed and praised her boy.
This little boy manifested some qualities that a lot of teenagers and adults today sadly do not possess nor exhibit: Discipline, obedience to instructions, self-control, patience, willpower, the ability to delay gratification, and most of all, the ability to resist negative peer pressure. The parents bought the chocolate for their kids, so the chocolate belongs to the kids and they'll eat it after all, so there was no need to rush to eat them.
Just as the little girl rushed to eat the chocolate (in disobedience to her mum's instruction), probably thinking she may never be able to eat it again if she did not eat it now, that is how many teenagers and adults today rush to make money through illegal and ungodly means (in disobedience to God's instructions), because they think if they don't have money now, they will never have it later in life; they do not have the patience to build clean and durable wealth.
What's more, a lot of teenagers and adults have gone to their early graves as a result of negative peer pressure. Some are still living but negative peer pressure has messed up their lives so badly that they loathe living. If a person is not wise, bold and strong enough to resist negative peer pressure, their life would be seriously damaged.
Is it not strange that we are hardly ever pressurized by our peers to do something good and beneficial? The pressure often and usually is to do something bad and harmful. I remember how I was pressurized by my peers then as a teen to have a boyfriend and to try french kissing with him. They narrated how fun, pleasurable and sweet it was and said it was for "big girls". I was ill-advised that keeping more than one boyfriend (to meet your different needs and wants) is wisdom, but they never told me such "fun" was dangerous and costly and you'd be playing with fire when you decide to do that. Well, God's mercy delivered me early, His grace kept me from being damaged and His loved saved my soul in due time.
A teen boy was pressurized by his friends to engage in money ritual to become rich overnight, but unknown to him, his friends were planning to use him to do the money ritual so they could become rich themselves. He gave in to the pressure and followed his friends to a witch doctor where he was used for money ritual. A young girl was pressurized by her close friend to get a boyfriend so she could "belong". After much pressure, she obliged and followed her friend to her house (her friend had told her she would arrange for her to meet a male friend of hers in her house).
When they got to her friend's house, her friend gave her a seat in the living room and told her she'd be back. She trusted her friend and sat down comfortably not knowing she had been set up. Immediately her friend left, an unknown guy came in and raped her, this resulted in pregnancy. This is what negative peer pressure does. And do you know that those peers of yours pressurizing you to do evil today will not suffer the consequences with you tomorrow?
If they pressurize you to smoke and drink alcoholic beverages, you'll bear the agony and the pain of bad health alone later in life. If they pressurize you to have premarital sex and you get pregnant, you'll carry the pregnancy and bear the shame alone. And if they advise you to abort the pregnancy and you do, you'll bear the guilt of murder alone forever, and if you lose your womb in the process of aborting a child, you'll bear the shame alone and deal with the inability to conceive again all alone.
As a boy, if you're pressurized by your peers to engage in premarital sex and you get a girl pregnant, you'll father a child with your own resources, your friends who advised you to have pre-marital sex will not bear the burden with you. And if you decide to run away and abandon the pregnant girl, you'll never escape the reward of your wickedness. That is the reality of life.
Therefore, if you currently have friends who are always pressurizing you to do something bad or immoral: to taste alcoholic beverages, to try smoking, to start sleeping with girls, to have a boyfriend or keep many of them, to go clubbing and attend night parties, to masturbate and watch porn to relieve the urge for sex, to steal from your company, to beat your wife, to refuse to submit to your husband, to divorce your spouse and remarry..., you had better severe your friendship with them now and early enough before they eventually ruin your life.
You should always remember this: YOU WILL ALWAYS SOLELY BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY WRONG ADVICE YOU TAKE. At best, your friends can sympathize with you, apologize to you, and try to comfort you, but you'll bear the shame, the guilt, the burden, the physical pain and the pain of regrets alone.
When you realize that your peers can advice you but will not bear with you the results of any bad advice they give you that boomerang, you'd be more careful when receiving advice. And when you understand that people are quick to give advice but disappear when the advice they gave backfires, you'd be more careful when seeking advice.
Have you ever asked yourself why peer pressure is always and often negative pressure (pressure to do something bad) and not positive pressure (pressure to do something good)? Well, if you don't know, know it now that the devil is the one working behind the scene - attempting to accomplish his ministry of killing, stealing and destroying the lives and beautiful destinies of men. Why do your peers not pressurize you to study hard, to be an excellent employee, to go to church, to serve God, to read and know the Word of God, to pray regularly, to do noble deeds, to help the poor, to obey your parents, to honor God with your life?
But they'll pressurize you to engage in all sorts of immoral and ungodly things. Be wise therefore and always remember the instruction of God to you in Proverbs 1:10: "My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent." Sinners (in this writing) are your peers who still love and enjoy sinful and immoral activities; so when they invite you to join them, God says you should not consent: say NO to them.
May the Lord imbue you with new strength and boldness to resist all negative pressures from your peers in Jesus' Name, Amen.
God bless you.
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