I am amazed at how often i can speak to a teenager about something and yet it never seems to register, like the listen but how to put it into action doesn’t really make any sense. Yet when their friends are completing the task, the pop right into place. i have always known that peer pressure existed but it always seemed like a bad thing to me. Below is an journal entry that i wrote after seeing peer influence work for the good. This was one of the first experiences that opened my eyes to the true power of peers.
March 16th
Today I stood in the back row of children’s church and I watched a sixth grade boy help is friend worship the Lord. It was amazing. You see I had tried to encourage this young boy to jump up and down and praise God like the other kids but he simply told me no. I was discouraged and wondered why, my gentle ushering could not encourage the boy. He stood still in a crowd of his hyperactive peers, surrounded by shouting, clapping, and dance this boy was a statue. I wondered what was on his mind or what would cause a child to refuse the opportunity to play. The music changed and the worship leaders asked the children to calm down and raise their hands to the Lord. The change in the crowd was remarkable. The energy levels remained the same and yet the energy was being funneled out in a different form; Raised hands, kneeling children, joyful voices, and prayerful hearts. The little statue was still standing strong. Then it happened…. This sixth grader walked two steps over to his statuette friend and picked up his hands. There was no conversation, no suggestion, no “leading by example”. What the one could not do for himself someone else did for him. It was a break through. The rest of worship both boys stood with their hands to the Lord!
God calls us to support our brothers and sisters in Christ.
