Daily devotional, March 02, 2024
The pressure

"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

Peer pressure is a real concern when raising teenagers. As teenagers, friends and classmates are one of the foremost influences of older kids given that they are with them for the most part of the day. If they are with good friends, then their behavior would not change negatively, and their grades would not slide. However, when they are with less than good influences, the results will definitely show in the area of class output, general views in life, as well as overall conduct at school and at home.

If this is an area you struggle with as a mom, then it is best to learn about Reuben. Reuben is a bible character who stood for what is right despite the pressures of his brothers. Reuben is the eldest of the 12 sons of Jacob. During the time that all the brothers are trying to kill their youngest brother, Joseph, Reuben tries to come up with ways to save him.

"Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father." 
Genesis 37:20-22

But while Reuben was successful in foiling his brothers’ attempt to kill Joseph, he was unsuccessful in preventing his other brothers from selling him as a slave.

“When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” Genesis 37:29-30

If we think about it there have been a lot of times that we have been in the same situation as Reuben. We have been pressured by others to engage in wrong behavior like rumor mongering, gossipping, judging, and even bullying others. We may have also been pressured to lie to our parents and teachers, overspend money, engage in substance abuse, and other worldly and unwholesome activities. 

This may have happened to us in school, the neighborhood, and even at the workplace. And our response to the pressure we felt before from our peers, should be our motivation on how we could protect our children from bad influences, and at the same time encourage them to stand up for what is right.

We can take the cue from St. Paul the Apostle who cautioned against fellowshipping with people with questionable morality:

"Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame." 1 Corinthians 15:33-34

If we were like Reuben, then it is good that we have resisted peer pressure. If however we succumbed to it, then now is the time to straighten our ways by educating our children to not respond the way we did. After all, our previous wrong decisions should not hinder us from trying our best to lead better lives, and raise children in Christ-likeness 

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Reuben is a bible character with flaws (Genesis 49:3-4), but one good thing he was known for is not being envious of his father’s love for Joseph and having sincere concern for his brother. We may not have a flawless past too, but it does not mean we can’t move on towards God’s best plans for us and our respective families.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Genesis 37:3-11, and 18-36to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Have you been in Reuben’s situation? How did you react to the peer pressure? Is there anything you want to change in how you react?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, protect me and my children from bad influences surrounding us. I pray that you give us the resolve to shun them, and stand up for what is right. We want to live a life that honors you. Amen.