When I started thinking of temptations that
teens face, so many jumped into my mind.
Drugs, sex, alcohol, bad language, movie
they watch, music they listen to, and the
list goes on and on and most can be traced
back to the desire to fit in.
Parents, do not ever underestimate the
power and the dangers of your teen’s
need for acceptance, the need to fit in.
It’s the dreaded feeling of being the only
one at a lunch table or being in a room
where you don’t know anyone and no one
seems interested in talking to you. Relationships
are a huge part of the way God made us.
He saw that it was not good for Adam to be
alone so He created a companion for him.
We are made to interact and the fear of being
alone or different from the crowd can drive a
teenager to do things that are entirely contrary
to their nature and personality.
This is not a new problem and is certainly not
unique among teenagers, as many adults struggle
with their identity and how they fit in certain
places and situations. The entire Old Testament
is a case study in a longing for acceptance and
in many cases, the willingness of Israel to do
anything to fit in with the nations around them.
God promised them their own land and delivered
them from Egypt. He put them in a position where
they were surrounded by pagan nations and
had the opportunity to be a light in a great darkness.
2 Kings 17:15 talks about one of the many times that Israel
compromised her beliefs and took the easy road of trying to blend in:
15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant
he had made with their fathers and the warnings
he had given them. They followed worthless idols
and themselves became worthless. They imitated
the nations around them although the LORD had
ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they
did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.
Graduates, you will be entering a new phase of
life and thrown into new situations and meet
new people and there will be the temptation to
do what it takes to fit in, to follow the crowd.
It doesn’t matter if you are going to a Christian
college, a secular college, the military, or the
workplace, there will be temptation to blend in at
any cost. The temptation will be very real to
abandon your beliefs and morals because they
are different or unpopular. The decisions you make
in the next couple of weeks and months about
relationships and where you fit in and how far
you’ll go when looking for acceptance will shape
the person you become. Stand up for who you
are and for what you believe, don’t abandon God
at the first sign of trouble or conflict, learn to lean
on Him and find your self-worth and confidence in Him alone.
1PE 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and
strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful
desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such
good lives among the pagans that, though they
accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your
good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
When the people you come in contact with see a
consistency between word and deed and an outlook
on life that doesn’t change with a bad hair day,
they will be drawn to Christ and His life changing
love through their encounter with you.
Choose your friends wisely, Paul warns us that
"Bad company corrupts good character.”
Decide now what you believe and where you stand
or the people you spend your time with will decide it for you.
teens face, so many jumped into my mind.
Drugs, sex, alcohol, bad language, movie
they watch, music they listen to, and the
list goes on and on and most can be traced
back to the desire to fit in.
Parents, do not ever underestimate the
power and the dangers of your teen’s
need for acceptance, the need to fit in.
It’s the dreaded feeling of being the only
one at a lunch table or being in a room
where you don’t know anyone and no one
seems interested in talking to you. Relationships
are a huge part of the way God made us.
He saw that it was not good for Adam to be
alone so He created a companion for him.
We are made to interact and the fear of being
alone or different from the crowd can drive a
teenager to do things that are entirely contrary
to their nature and personality.
This is not a new problem and is certainly not
unique among teenagers, as many adults struggle
with their identity and how they fit in certain
places and situations. The entire Old Testament
is a case study in a longing for acceptance and
in many cases, the willingness of Israel to do
anything to fit in with the nations around them.
God promised them their own land and delivered
them from Egypt. He put them in a position where
they were surrounded by pagan nations and
had the opportunity to be a light in a great darkness.
2 Kings 17:15 talks about one of the many times that Israel
compromised her beliefs and took the easy road of trying to blend in:
15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant
he had made with their fathers and the warnings
he had given them. They followed worthless idols
and themselves became worthless. They imitated
the nations around them although the LORD had
ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they
did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.
Graduates, you will be entering a new phase of
life and thrown into new situations and meet
new people and there will be the temptation to
do what it takes to fit in, to follow the crowd.
It doesn’t matter if you are going to a Christian
college, a secular college, the military, or the
workplace, there will be temptation to blend in at
any cost. The temptation will be very real to
abandon your beliefs and morals because they
are different or unpopular. The decisions you make
in the next couple of weeks and months about
relationships and where you fit in and how far
you’ll go when looking for acceptance will shape
the person you become. Stand up for who you
are and for what you believe, don’t abandon God
at the first sign of trouble or conflict, learn to lean
on Him and find your self-worth and confidence in Him alone.
1PE 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and
strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful
desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such
good lives among the pagans that, though they
accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your
good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
When the people you come in contact with see a
consistency between word and deed and an outlook
on life that doesn’t change with a bad hair day,
they will be drawn to Christ and His life changing
love through their encounter with you.
Choose your friends wisely, Paul warns us that
"Bad company corrupts good character.”
Decide now what you believe and where you stand
or the people you spend your time with will decide it for you.
