Saturday, May 8: 1Samuel 8-The power of peer pressure

Telling words… "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles" (19-20).

Then we will be like all the other nations… if anyone doubts the power of peer pressure and the influence of others upon us, these words should eliminate all doubt! Why did Israel want a king? So they could look like everyone else!

This chapter reflects a sad day, the day when Israel rejected God as king. And Israel’s reason?  We want to look like everyone else. That thought just took my breadth away. How shallow and how sad.

How poignant and how true this is to this day. Some not so gentle nudges reminded me pressure to be like everyone else isn’t restricted to Israel; it is a human problem. I battle it. If you read this blog you battle it. We buy certain cars because of it. We dress the way we do because of it. It surrounds us and engulfs us and most often it leads us from, not toward, faithfulness to God.

Like a caution sign before a dangerous curve in a road, this text flashes CAUTION, CAUTION.  Examine your life, observe what influences you, beware…

O, Lord, walk with me through my life and shine Your light on those peer pressures, especially peer pressures that lure me in unhealthy directions. I know this will likely be painful, Lord, but Who else has the words of life? Speak, lead, illumine and guide me, Jesus, into the way of everlasting… amen.