Peer Pressure

# 409 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 6:24-29, “So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!" Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

The power of peer pressure! That strong desire to be esteemed by others. Even though Herod was EXCEEDINGLY sorry for what he was about to do....he did it anyway.

The devil knows how prone we are to this kind of pressure and that's why we pick up on the urgency of the moment. Note the words, “immediately, with haste, and at once” in the text. If the guests leave, Herod may change his mind, and John may be spared, so the pressure is on to do it immediately!

Teens aren't the only ones susceptible to peer pressure, and when peer pressure comes, pray that God will give you the faith and the sense to remain faithful to Him. To fall for peer pressure is to be concerned about your glory rather than God's.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word.