I Samuel 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.."
Even Saul succumbed to peer pressure! I'm not sure if we should find comfort in that or warning - we know how Saul ended. He gave great power to what other people thought of him, constantly comparing himself even to David, the boy, the friend of his son. Yes, David did amazing things, but Saul was the king. Still Saul struggled with insecurity.
So what about us? I wondered if we took some time to review the previous day's or week's activities, how many choices would we find we had made because of what someone else might think. Perhaps we might have chosen to do them anyway, but the most powerful impetus was the fear of man - what others would think about what we might do or say.
Then one more thought came to me as I rehearsed this passage: when we succumb to peer pressure over our own sense of what is right and wrong BECAUSE we are in relationship with Jesus Christ, we are violating our relationship with God, violating His commands. Consider the first and great commandment - to love the Lord your God with your heart, soul and mind. Allowing others that much power to influence our choices would indicate we loved them and perhaps what they could do for or to us that we love God.
Giving the power of influence to the world, our friends or even family, when it belongs first to God, must grieve Him deeply.
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