Not Giving In: Overcoming The Crisis of Peer Pressure

Jesus was a fascinating person. 

He was a radical man with views on the world and life that differed from the views that were typical in the first century. 

He was the Messiah, yet he was not what most people expected the Messiah to be. 

I love learning about the Messiah. 

The Messiah was somebody that the Jews had studied and looked for over hundreds and hundreds of years.

They had this specific picture of what he was going to look like, who he was going to be, and what he was going to do. 

Yet when His time came, they did not recognize Him. 

The Messiah, according to the Jewish people preceding the lifetime of Jesus’, was going to be a King, like David.  He was going to be a political ruler who would help the Israelites to conquer their oppressors. 

They were expecting a figure like Alexander the Great.

 Instead, what they got was a lunatic according to societies’ standards. 

Jesus was what we would call different.  Jesus was not a part of the religious in crowd. 

And He often opposed and clashed with those who were. 

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Jesus was not religious. 

He fulfilled religion, yet he did not like the people that represented it. 

In fact, he did not speak with religious authority.

Instead, he spoke in Godly authority. 

He would teach in revolutionary ways, saying things like. 

"You have heard it said ________, but I say, __________."  

And while the religious leaders would teach based on tradition; and on the teachings of past rabbis and leaders; Jesus would bring new things to the table. 

He wouldn’t teach what was normal. 

He would teach words directly from the Father. 

And these words would upset a lot of people; because they would break tradition. 

Jesus did not fit the status quo. 

He did not fit the picture of what the world wanted Him to be.

Everyone had expectations for him that he did not meet. 

Even his own disciples had a picture of who they wanted him to be that was far from the real Jesus. 

And when Jesus died, many of the disciples lost hope. 

They were shocked. 

Many told themselves that He wasn’t actually the Messiah. 

Some went back to their old jobs and old ways. 

Why?

Because He didn’t fit the picture that they were expecting.  

And then…

The greatest event in His(-s)tory occurred. 

He rose. 

He came back. 

He finished what He started. 

After that, the disciples, who were once just twelve average men

Went on to turn the world upside down. 

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There is a profound difference between normal and radical.

Today’s teenage culture is all about fitting in. 

More and more young men and women are going to extremes simply to attempt to be normal. 

I remember being in high school. 

I changed so many times to try and be who everybody else wanted me to be, that I didn’t even know who I was. 

I didn’t want to be the weirdo. 

And that is how many young people see Christians; or at least, so I thought. 

So I would push my morals aside for the sake of feeling accepted. 

Of course, chasing acceptance is like chasing after the wind. 

And I was never happy with who I was. 

Nowadays, Peer pressure shapes teenagers more than the church does. 

Peer pressure shapes teenagers more than the Bible does. 

Peer pressure is a factory, producing hurt, broken, empty, confused people who lack identity and purpose. 

Things like drugs, sex, alcohol, and violence are the norm. 

Many young people consider themselves Christians.

Yet, when you ask them their opinions on these matters, they lack anything in their conscience telling them that it is wrong. 
Their moral compass is broken.   

They see no problem with weed.

They see no problem with sex. 
They see no problem with partying. 

And the church needs to step be part of the solution. 
(when I say the church, I mean the people of the church.. so if you're reading this blog, that more than likely includes you!) 

And we need to hit this problem hard. 

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When Jesus was resurrected and revealed Himself to the disciples it started a movement. 

These twelve ordinary men would completely sell out and devote their lives to seeking the lost. 

They would devote their lives to being an outsider, to follow The Way and turn their backs on the pressures of who the world would tell them to be. 

And when it comes to today’s youth, we do not see that same passion that the disciples had. 

Instead, we see people trying to serve two masters:

People and God.

In fact, many fear man more than they fear God. 

And they have this twisted idea that they can live to please the world while living to please God. 

All that it took was twelve people- who decided that they would turn their back on the desires of their flesh- to change the world 2000 years ago. 

Twelve who decided that a life without Christ was no life worth living at all. 

Twelve people who decided that they would not listen to the pressure of who the world wanted them to be; but instead, find their identity in Christ. 

If we had twelve teenagers from any given school, decide to wholeheartedly commit to a life of following Christ over chasing popularity, acceptance, and peer pressure… that whole culture would change. 

So what can we do as a church to help combat the very dangerous threat that is peer pressure?

1.       Be there.

Just simply be there for your children, your students, and your friends. 

Be an ear to listen (and don’t always throw in your opinion about everything).

If you win their heart, then you will win their trust. 

And teens now have more questions than ever. 

Unfortunately, many don’t have a person to go to with these questions. 

Simply be there for them. 

Be a shoulder to lean on.

Be a shoulder to cry on.

Everything in life is an investment. 

And everyone is busy. 

Not just you.

Everyone. 

But some investments are too important to pass up. 

This is one of them.

Invest in their future; because their future is the future.

And when I say be there, I don't just mean figuratively.  I also mean literally. 

If your son has a game, try to make it once in a while.

Show him that you care and that he’s worth something to you.

Because if you don’t, he will spend his life trying to find worth in worthless things;

And that will only heighten his desire to seek acceptance and give in to the pressures surrounding him.   

2.       Get to know them.

There is a difference between a shallow acquaintance and a friend.  

We may think that we know people on the surface, but often there is often much more than meets the eye. 
I see this All The Time at work, and it is heartbreaking;
A father and his daughter come in, share a meal, and stare blankly into space while sitting across from each other.
-If you don't have anything to talk about; it's time to invest a bit more into that relationship.

There are teens that you see every week that have a life that you know nothing about.
They struggle with things.  Internally and externally.  And you may be completely in the dark.  

There are teens all around you experimenting with drugs, sex, alcohol, cutting; and many of these teens literally have not even one person reaching out to them. 

Get to KNOW them.

This means actually forming and investing in a relationship. 

If it’s your children, this means going deeper than shallow conversations at the dinner table or routine questions while dropping them off at school.

It means asking the hard questions, and shutting off your phone and putting away your work and listening attentively to what they have to say. 

For youth leaders; myself included; it means going outside of our comfort zones and pursuing those around us. 

Whether that means bringing somebody to McDonalds or bringing somebody to a basketball court; to form a real relationship you will need to go above and beyond; and that can literally have life-saving and life-changing ramifications. 

Also, this means knowing who they spend time with.

This does not mean be smothering.

But don’t be naïve. 

Because who they spend time with now will reflect who they grow up to be in the future. 

3.       Demonstrate Jesus to them.  

When Jesus demonstrated Himself to the disciples after His resurrection; it was game over.

Their lives could never be the same again.

They couldn’t go back to the way things were. 

And one of the best ways that we can help teens overcome the threat of peer-pressure is by demonstrating Jesus to them in the way we live. 

Not a fake, watered-down, imaginary, twisted version of Jesus; but the real, authentic, revolutionary, radical, fearless, awesome, powerful Jesus of the Bible. 

And while we’re on the subject of the Bible, that means actually reading your Bible; because you can’t imitate Jesus if you don’t know the real Jesus. 

And you can’t expect the teens around you to live a life that you’re not living.

And you can’t expect them to go places that you’re not going. 

If they get a clear, accurate, and precise picture of who Jesus is, watch out, because things will change. 

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Today’s teens face incredible obstacles and pressures unheard of in previous generations.  Because of this we really need to take action before it is too late.  This generation will lay the foundation for our future.  But before the future is in their hands, it is still in ours.  Let’s be a part of the solution.


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Sources:
http://www.familyfirstaid.org/peer-pressure.html

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel