Quite honestly, I am not sure if we
are ever free of peer pressure, but I have been reflecting upon its influence
upon our lives.
Peer pressure can both help us and
hurt us. C. S. Lewis wrote an interesting article entitled, “The Inner Ring.” It
suggests why the difference is there. He acknowledges that all of has an inner
circle of friends. We are social creatures and we need that inner ring of
friends. We care for them and they care for us. We influence each other. He warns
us, though, that the desire to be in an inner ring of a group is sinful. This desire
to do and say things to be part of a group is dangerous in that it may block
you from becoming the person God wants you to be.
David Greene, the host of NPR's
"Morning Edition," explains that peer pressure can help us by
inspiring us to do the right thing. Sit next to a good student in class, and
her study habits can rub off on you. Watch your neighbors install solar panels
on their roof, and it might motivate you to do the same thing.
Most of us think of peer pressure
as a negative. The Monitoring the Future Survey ... found that approximately 30
percent of eighth graders have used illicit drugs.
The survey also made three
conclusions about the effect of peer pressure on drug and alcohol use. It seems
that teens with friends who do drugs and alcohol:
+ are more likely to do the same.
+ are more likely to convince their friends to do it too.
+ are more likely to seek out other teens that do the same.[1]
Interestingly peer pressure can
also have a negative way if we are with our very best peers. We might find
ourselves becoming discouraged as to our abilities.
Todd Rogers is a professor of
public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has studied the peer pressure
that comes from people who are a little better than we are, as well as the
pressure that comes from people who are much better than we are. I am sure
Pharisees thought of themselves in that category when it came to spirituality.
He says that when you or someone else compares you to people who are doing a
little better than you are it can motivate. Someone conserving energy might
inspire you to use less energy. Someone voting might motivate you to vote.
However, if you compare yourself or others compare you to someone who is
unattainably better than you are, we have another form of negative peer
pressure.
A common example many preachers use
is Mother Teresa. Her life and words will preach well. Yet, the danger of such
an example is that what she did can seem unattainable for us “average”
Christians raising families and working in the world.
In my sports life, tennis is an
example. When I played against someone incredibly better, it was dispiriting. I
wanted to give up. I had a friend in Seminary, Don Thorsen, who was a little
better than I was. He would usually win, but the games were close. It taught me
a lot to watch him toss the ball in the air for a serve. He inspired me to play
better. I think I was that person for my first District Superintendent, Bill
Clayton. In a different way, when I went to Brownstown, I had a member of the
church who was much older than I was but who regularly beat me, largely because
he was so consistent in getting to balls and getting them back.
Rogers studied more than 5,000
students in a massive open online course. As part of the course, the students
graded each other's work and learned from each other. What Rogers discovered
was that ordinary students became far more likely to quit the course when he
paired them with the best students. The ordinary students grading top-quality
papers assumed that everyone in the group was brilliant and this made them feel
inferior.
Such observations make me wonder
about the effect of the Pharisees upon the people of their generation. Even
Paul was proud of the fact that he was “as to the law, a Pharisee.” This is
exactly the effect of the Pharisees on the people around them. Those within the
inner circle of Judaism knew they were superior to others regarding adherence
to the Law. Those outside the inner circle knew it as well – and it may well
have dispirited them! It may well have led them to give up on even to try being
faithful to the covenant.
[1] --Stacy Zeiger, "Statistics on peer pressure," Love to Know
Website. teens.lovetoknow.com. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
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