“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;” Ephesians 6:12–14 In the 1950s, a professor named Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments to measure the influence of peer pressure on an individual. In the experiments a group of college students was brought in and told that they were undergoing a perception exercise. After being shown a line, the students were asked to correctly match it to another line of the same length. All of the students except for one in each group had already been told what answer to give. The test was designed so that the correct answer would be obvious. The true subject of the experiment would be seated last in the group so that everyone else would answer first. After a few trial runs during which everyone gave the correct answer, the real experiment would begin. On some questions, all of the other students would deliberately give the same wrong answer. In many cases, the test subject would go along with the group—in fact 75% of the subjects gave at least one wrong answer during the tests. There is enormous power in peer pressure, and often that pressure is put on us to go along with something which we know to be wrong. The truth is under assault in our day and many people are abandoning it in order to be better accepted or to avoid being criticized or persecuted. What we need instead are Christians who have firm beliefs and convictions and will not be swayed by anyone. Today’s Renewal Principle: Even if no one else is willing to do what is right, we need the courage to stand firm.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 16:33:17 +0000
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