Many years ago when our children were in their preteens, we moved to a new city, and my daughter joined the youth choir at our new church. At the first practice, a girl made fun of my daughter's shoes and all the other girls snickered.
I thought of this a few weeks later when I began volunteering at a local VA nursing home in the same city. I'd visit patients, pray for them, and offer to read an encouraging Bible verse before leaving.
One of the patients was a 100-year-old man, and he enjoyed our visit. But he asked me not to read the Bible because his friends might see us and think he was religious.
That's when I realized peer pressure has no age limit. It happens to 12-year-old girls and 100-year-old veterans.
That was many years ago, but peer pressure continues to promote conformity. Christians are being pressured to reject our Christian values as outdated, irrelevant, or hateful. But we have this confidence: even if we live for 100 years, we'll never be sorry for rejecting worldly lies and promoting biblical truths.
Jesus gave us this wonderful promise: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).
thanks, I just read this to my teens at bedtime.
ReplyDeletelovely post!
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