Youthsurge Blog
Temptation to Be Liked
20 June, 2008
The temptation to fit and be liked is something at impacts us all. Or to put it another way, unless we are, well, 105 peer pressure is an issue for us all.If we are Christians then one of the big temptations is to be no different than everyone else even though God calls us to be different. This is what Jesus said to his disciples in John 15..."if you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. But as it is, I have called you out of the world"Jesus is here reminding his disciples that the non-Christian will be against them in everyway that they were against him. For instance - When they live to please themselves and you live to please God, people won't be impressed. When you don't get drunk with them they won't be impressed; when all your friends are working or partying and you're at youth group they won't like it. When you stick up for the kid at school who gets picked on they won't thank you for it. When you tell them that they need to turn to Jesus for forgiveness they'll hate you.How are you going with this temptation? Here's a quick survey:I'm more likely to act like a Christian with my Christian friends and to act like a non-Christian when I'm with my non-Christian friendsStrongly Disagree…Disagree…Not Sure…Agree…Strongly agreeI get upset when my non-Christian friends leave me out of their activities Strongly Disagree…Disagree…Not Sure…Agree…Strongly agreeI'd rather be with my friends than with my familyStrongly Disagree…Disagree…Not Sure…Agree…Strongly agreeI try to keep up with the latest fadsStrongly Disagree…Disagree…Not Sure…Agree…Strongly agreeMy non-Christian friend's opinions are important to meStrongly Disagree…Disagree…Not Sure…Agree…Strongly agreeIt bothers me when my non-Christians friends think I'm 'too religious'Strongly Disagree…Disagree…Not Sure…Agree…Strongly agreeHow did you go? Do you want to fit in? This temptation is a VERY SNEAKY temptation because God made us to be relational beings, and getting on with people is a good thing, but sometimes our earthly relationships can be more important than our heavenly relationship.The problem is what you'll do in order to be liked. If all you want is to be liked, you'll be tempted to turn down the Christian stuff and do what makes you popular. When you are faced with those choices between God and people it seems that God is a long way away, and your friends and family are so close.What makes it worse is that rarely will you ever be put into a situation where you will be asked out and out to deny Jesus. It will be more gradual, bit-by-bit; on little things that it's hard to tell whether they really matter or not. If we are not careful though Jesus will be put in the background more and more.
