Follow the Crowd

One thing that I always insisted on, though, was that my teenager was making her own decisions.

Exodus 23:1-33

Reference: v.2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd (TNIV Bible)

Explore: Being a teenager can be a challenge… and parenting one can be just as interesting!  One of the hardest things I discovered, was not being able to pick your teenager’s friends.  As adults we know that the people we associate with have a huge influence.  When you see your teenager hanging out with a crowd that may encourage destructive behaviour, it is certainly difficult to deal with.  One thing that I always insisted on, though, was that my teenager was making her own decisions. Sure, other people can easily influence us, but the decision is still ours to make.

Application: This is not just true of teenagers, but of adults too.  God gave each of us the ability to choose for ourselves, and we need to take responsibility for the actions we take.  The Israelites were reminded in their laws to do what was right, not what the ‘crowd’ was doing. It seems like history continues to repeat itself as we need to be regularly reminded to stick to what is right rather than being influenced by others.

Prayer: Lord, so often we know what is right and yet we take the ‘easy’ option and go with the flow. May we draw on you for courage and discernment. Amen.

When have you allowed yourself to follow the crowd?

choose, decisions, Exodus, follow