Dr.
James Dobson told about a study that was done to test the effects of peer
pressure on an individual. Ten high school students were brought into a room. A
researcher held up cards with three different lengths on them labeled A, B, and
C, and instructed them to raise their hand whenever he pointed to the
longest line.
What
one of the students didn’t know was that the other nine students were
previously told to point to the second
longest line. When the instructor pointed to the second longest line, the nine
teenagers immediately raised their hands. The lone teenager would look at the
other raised hands, and then would slip up his hand with the rest of the group.
He knew it wasn’t the longest line, but
he didn’t want to be the only one who didn’t raise his hand.
As
they kept bringing in new teenagers for the experiment, the response produced
the same results. Seventy-five percent of teenagers conformed with the majority and
gave the wrong answer.
We are constantly bombarded with voices telling us
that right is wrong, and wrong is right. This isn’t new. The prophet Isaiah
warned, “Woe to those who call
evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness
for light and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20). Today we call the pressure to conform to the majority as “group think.”
When
King Nebuchadnezzar told everyone in Babylon to bow down to the statue he had
made, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down. Even when they were
threatened with death, they refused to submit to “group think” (Daniel 3:1-26).
They
are an example for us today. Don’t listen to the ungodly voices trying to force
you to bow down and agree with them. Stand up for truth and don’t kneel to their pressure.
Over
270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
****************************************************************************************************
Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe
in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out.
You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)