Today’s focus is going to be on peer pressure. Peer pressure, by definition, is: “social pressure by members of one’s peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform to be accepted.” The first half of the Golden Calf story resonated with me that peer pressure took place back in Exodus. It’s a concept as old as time.
We see the Israelites panicking because Moses hadn’t returned from Mt. Sinai and has now asked Aaron to build them a Golden Calf in honor of God. It made me wonder what type of wrestling Aaron went through before ultimately agreeing to it. Aaron had about equitable power and authority that Moses had, so he knew that creating this golden calf would be a no-no. Yet, I feel Aaron looked out at the crowd and saw his people. He saw the fear, anxiety, and anger and looked for a solution. The solution may not have been the right one, but I’m he felt the pressure from the crowd to create a solution that brought comfort to their discomfort.
Dealing with peer pressure is uncomfortable. It’s hard to tell people no. It’s hard to refuse something, risking that you may get bullied because it’s hard to stand alone when others have left you to do what others are doing. It’s hard to stand true to what you believe in because you have a crowd around. All of that is uncomfortable, but I know that God walks with me through all that. When I feel pressured to follow the world, God stands on the other side with arms wide open. We can run to Him and seek comfort. The world may bully us, call us out, or slander us. However, the only person whose opinion matters is God’s opinion. God doesn’t pressure us. God doesn’t guilt us. God doesn’t bully us to do what he wants. He invites us with arms wide open into a relationship with him that can quiet the world. The Golden Calf comforted the Israelites temporarily like things in our world, but God brings comfort for eternity. Amen.
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