When you were younger, your parents
usually chose your friends, putting you in playgroups or arranging play dates
with certain children they knew and liked. Now that you're older, you decide
who your friends are and what groups you spend time with.
Your friends — your peers — are people of your age or
close to it who have experiences and interests similar to yours. A person one
feels at home with, share company, can trust and believe in not necessarily
members of the same family. You and your
friends make dozens of decisions every day, and you influence each other's
choices and behaviours. This is often positive.
As you become more independent, your
peers naturally play a greater role in your life. As school and other
activities take you away from home, you may spend more time with peers than you
do with your parents and siblings. Friends are important
and have a growing influence on our values.
So it does matter who your friends are. If you chose wisely the less
negative peer pressure you will experience.
Sometimes
our friends try to put pressure on us. We
are being faced with making a difficult new choices of doing things or go to places
that we know our parents will disapprove of. One may feel left out if he/she
does not join them. At times we do the
wrong things just to stay popular. For many
young people the opinions of peers are more important than those of parents/guardians.
(We look at our parents/guardians as those who never want anything good for us
since they never consider our opinions as important –they are never friends but
dictator who only imposes decisions not minding what one feels).
However, we
must not always go this way, we can be the first to choose not to go with the
crowd and you may find
others in the group who think like us. Standing to defend the value and
what we belief. We can change friends when necessary especially those who do
not believe what we believed in order to up hold our family values and faith we
profess.
One can
handle peer pressure by making sure that the friends you choose are people who
will help you in life and not harm you. A
good friend helps you to do good things; things that will not endanger your
life or the lives of others. Choose friends who not only share the same values
with you but also have the courage to stand out and resist any action that is
not correct. Meditate upon the word of God daily so that He will guide you at
all times. Resist every ungodly idea from your friends and suggest to them the
correct and godly ideas that will help them. Never say “Everyone is doing it, I’m the only one who isn’t
allowed to”. Remember, peer pressure can
be positive rather than negative. Why not be positive? It is possible because His divine power has
given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him
who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Have you known Him! He is Jesus Christ and He loves you.
Why not accept His love and make Him your personal Lord and Saviour?
Therefore, stand out for the
right values you have and don’t let anyone look down on you. Always be the
first to say No to what is evil and quickly suggest alternatives that will save
you both.
Share it with any teenage you know, who knows, you may change a life.
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