Proverbs 1:10-19
There are few phrases more powerful than, “Everybody else is doing it.” We learn it as teenagers, but apparently we never completely outgrow it. The only thing that changes is what “it” happens to be. At sixteen, it might be sneaking out after curfew. At fifty, it might be buying a smoker because three guys at work have one and suddenly cooking a hamburger on a regular grill feels irresponsible.
Proverbs understands the pressure to fit in. “My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!” (Proverbs 1:10, NLT). I love how direct that is. No complicated strategy. No twelve-step process for evaluating peer pressure. If people are inviting you somewhere God does not want you to go, do not go.
The verses that follow describe people inviting someone to join them in doing what is clearly wrong. Their pitch is basically, “Come with us. We will do this together. We will all benefit.” That is how compromise often works. It rarely begins with a decision to throw away our convictions. More often, it begins with a convincing reason why this one time really is not that big of a deal. Everybody does it. Nobody will know. You don’t want to be the only one. Somehow, the wrong thing can start sounding surprisingly reasonable.
There is something powerful about belonging, which is exactly why the wrong crowd can become so dangerous. We can slowly surrender convictions we once held simply because we do not want to feel awkward standing alone. I wish I could say that gets easier with age. It doesn’t. Adults still want approval. We still want to be included. We still feel the pull to laugh at something we should not laugh at, participate in something we know is wrong or remain quiet when speaking up might make the room uncomfortable.
Following Jesus will occasionally mean being the person who says no while everyone else says yes. It may cost you an invitation, some approval or a seat at the table. Fitting in is a terrible trade if the price is becoming someone Jesus never called you to be.
The crowd does not get to determine what is right. Jesus does. So when everyone else is doing it, remember that you are not called to follow everyone else. You are called to follow Christ. Sometimes the holiest word you can say is simply, “No.”