How Can I Cope With Peer Pressure?

Culled from the book "Questions young people ask and answers that work"

At the age of 14, Karen was already a eavy drug user and regularly engaged in sex. By age 17, Jim was a confirmed alcoholic and living an immoral life. Both admit they did not really lke the life they were living nor the things they were doing. Why then did they act as they did? Peer pressure!

"Everyone I was with was into these things, and that had a big effect on me", explains Karen. Jim agreed, saying, "I didn't want to lose my friends by being different.

Why Youths Follow Their Peers

As some youths get older, the influence of parents wanes, and a desire to be popular and to be accepted by peers grows strong. Oters simply feed a need to talk with someone who "Understands" or who will make them feel loved and needed. When such communication is lacking and hhome as is often the case, they seek it among their peers. Often, too, a lack of self-confidence and feelings of insecurity cause some to be vulnerable to peer influence.

Peer influence is not necessarily bad. A proverb says: "By iron, iron itself is sharpened. So one man sharpens the face of another." (Prov 27:17) Just as an iron knife can sharpen the dulled edge of another knife, fellowship with other youths can 'sharpen' your personality and make you a better person if those peers have mature, healthy attitudes. All too often, though, youths are sadly lacking in maturity both mental and spiritual.

To be continued... If you enjoyed this kndly share it with your friends on facebook and twitter