July 19th,2013- Peer Pressure & Righteous Friendships

      This past Friday, we had another great group of women join us for our FOURTH meeting! Praise God for what He has started and will carry until completion! Peer pressure, defined as "social pressure by members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values or conform in order to be accepted", is extremely common in this day and age. Often times, as Christians, we think its okay to have one foot in Christ and the other in the world just to seem "normal" or fit in. However we need to remember that although we are in this world, we are not of it (John 15:19). This means that just because others think it is ok, if it isn't pleasing to God, we shouldn't even entertain it. Nobody is perfect though, and sometimes we do give in, willingly and/or subconsciously. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss how the ladies deal with certain peer pressures and come up with different ways to avoid these situations. We were all there to share and learn from each other.
      This wonderful group of women each received a list of questions pertaining to peer pressure that they were to answer individually and later discuss in the larger group. Based on general consensus, the most common forms of peer pressure are about: marriage, swearing, and clubbing/partying. Other examples may also include physical appearance and what you watch and listen to. No one should ever push you into something you are not comfortable doing, especially if you feel convicted not to. Some ways to deal with certain peer pressures can be to distance yourself from the people or group of people, find an alternative to the situation and most importantly confide in someone who could hold you accountable for your actions.
       Peer pressure is not something we should have to deal with on our own either. That is where righteous friendships come in. The girls said that "righteous" was a strong word...YES it is, but also a great way to depict the importance of such a friendship. When asking the girls what a righteous friendship is to them, they basically were right on with their answers. Such a friend builds you up, holds you accountable, pushes you in a POSITIVE direction, genuinely loves you and helps you grow spiritually, mentally and emotionally. If that is not what is happening in your life...GIRL, it's time to reevaluate your friendships! Not only should you have righteous friendships but you should also be that great friend to another. How? First and foremost by your behavior. Just like children, we are more likely to follow what we see than what we hear. Think of some things you find yourself in the habit of doing. Did you start because someone told you it was the right thing to do? Or did you see a positive example doing the same and how it worked for them? Also, never forget to pray for your friends and speak to them in love. Study them a little, see how they react to certain things and find ways that they would be more inclined to listen or follow your direction.
         We are only human and yes we do fall into things that may not be pleasing to God. He will meet you where you are, but you have to be willing to move forward and not look back. God loves you and will always find a way to help you! <3