Christian Living

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Peer Pressure

Daniel 1

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. 6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. 10 And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”
11 So Daniel said to the steward[a] whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” 14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. 16 Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
18 Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 Then the king interviewed[b] them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. 21 Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.

Peer Pressure is all around us, but what is it? Peer pressure is that influence that we face to “fit in” to a particular group, to change our attitudes, values or behaviours to conform to group norms. The “particular group” could be a small group of pals from school, or even stretch to mean the whole of society itself. In any case, peer pressure is strong. In today’s world, young people especially are under great pressure to “grow up fast”. Just take a look at some of the teen magazines being sold. Young girls are being encouraged on how to date, get slim, look sexy, how to kiss etc. I remember a couple years ago, a big reputable store came under much criticism for selling a “skimpy” range of clothes for girls as young as six! Boys today are under intense pressure to lose their virginity as soon as possible, to smoke, to drink. Below are some statistics from the U.S.
• The Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base reports that right around 30% if teens are offered drugs in middle school and high school.
• According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 74.3% of high school students have tried alcohol.
• 3.1 million Teenagers smoke, according to the American Lung Association.
• The Kaiser Foundation reports that about 50% of teenagers feel pressured with regard to sex in relationships.

It’s important to note though that it isn’t only adolescents and teens that face peer pressure. Adults do as well. Many people start smoking at work, to fit in with their colleagues. Many indulge in heavy drinking after work in order fit in, and get ahead in their careers. There are many more examples.
In this chapter, I want to explore a story about Daniel and his friends which relates to peer pressure. Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had just been taken captive from their homes in Judah. They were now in Babylon – a new culture, new surroundings. As young boys it must have been very difficult. They were taken away from everything they knew. Now they were in a situation where they were expected to adapt, and adapt quickly. They were at the mercy of a ruthless king who was used to having things his own way. There was also a lot at stake. Daniel’s friends were to be trained for service in the king’s government. If they did well, they would have good jobs and be relatively comfortable in their new country.
Now you can see that the Babylonians wanted the young men to be conformed to their way of life as soon as they were taken into the chief eunuch’s care. He first thing he did was to change their names. Please, take a minute and think about that. Imagine, you are taken from your home, your family into a strange country. You will probably never see your home again. You are put into the care of a guardian, to be trained in a strange language, customs, and culture. Your name is to be changed. It’s as if the Babylonians wanted these young men to become different people altogether!

The Bible doesn’t tell us how many young men were taken into the care of this eunuch, but it was a group of them.
Today, you are in a group too. If you go to school, you are in a class. In your community, rich or poor you have your friends. If you work, you have your colleagues. You are part of a society – a big group. No matter what group you are in, there is an expectation about how you as a part of that group will behave – what you eat, or drink, how you speak, what you wear, where you go, and a myriad of other things.

Now take a moment to think about Daniel and his friends. They were in a group of young men like themselves. However unlike you and I who today are in a number of groups through our own choice of for our own progression in life, these young men were forced into their group. They didn’t want to be there! If it was up to them, they would be back in Judah.
I put it to you that their very lives were at stake if they didn’t “behave themselves” in their current circumstance. If you think I am exaggerating, flip a few chapters down into Daniel 6 to see what King Nebucadnezzar did to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah when they didn’t conform to society’s norms! He threw them into a fiery furnace!
If there was ever pressure to conform it was here. These young men were assigned portions of food that went against their God-given principles.

Today, you may be feeling pressured to do something that is against your God-given principles too. It may be that you are an adolescent, entering into teenage years. You feel a bit pressured to start going out to certain places with your friends. You may feel as if you need to try a cigarette, or to act in a certain way to get a boyfriend or girlfriend. You may be an older person at work, who feels under pressure to act in a certain way or do certain things to “get ahead”. Whatever the situation is, you are faced with a choice. Do you fit in, or do you stand out. Fitting in is easier because it is expected. Standing out is harder, because it attracts attention to yourself or position that you may not want.
However in those situations where what is expected of you goes against what you know in your heart is right, what will you do? It’s never easy go against the norm. Let’s see how this story can help us.

A Matter of the Heart

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.
This is the first key that you and I must understand about resisting peer pressure, resisting that urge to do what is wrong in order to fit in or get ahead. You must first think about what is being asked of you and the consequences. That phrase “purposed in his heart” means that Daniel gave thought to the situation and made a firm decision as to what course of action he would take. He weighed things up in his mind and came to a conclusion. “I can eat this food and stay out of trouble...but it would be wrong to do that....but what will the eunuch think...and all these others around me...what would God want me to do...but what if I don’t...” I am just giving a little example here of some of the thoughts that may gone through his mind. My point is though, is that in every situation you face, you have to think about it. What are your choices? What are the consequences of each choice you face? What is God’s will in this? Pondering on these questions will help you move in the right direction.

Be Proactive

..therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself
Once Daniel purposed in his heart that he wouldn’t eat and drink the allotted food and wine, he went one step further by approaching the chief. He took the initiative. He didn’t delay and he wasn’t passive. This is important to note, because Daniel’s moved from just purposing in his heart to purposeful action. Imagine if Daniel had just sat there saying “I am not going to have this food and drink” but then did nothing. It would have been much harder to resist if he had waited for the food to be put right in front of him before he said anything.
In the same way today, if you are feeling pressure to do something big or small that is wrong, then take some action to ensure you do not have to compromise. It may be a simple step like simply saying “No”. It may be you have to delete a particular phone number from your address book, or stop going to a certain place which exposes you to a particular temptation. If Daniel didn’t act then he would have had to eat that food. He would probably have been miserable doing it thinking “why didn’t I just say something”. Similarly for us today, it is better for us to be proactive than to be passive and compromise as a result. If you are not sure what to do, pray and ask God to guide and strengthen you. He is right there for you, willing and able to help.

God will grant you favour

Now God had brought Daniel into favour and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs
Be assured that no matter how the situation looks, once you make a decision that is in line with God’s word and His will for your life, you have His blessing and favour. God granted Daniel a good relationship with the eunuch, which made things easier for him. It would have been much harder for Daniel if he didn’t get on well with the eunuch. However God in His mercy saw to it that there was a good relationship between them. Today if you make the right choices, God too will grant you His favour. He can grant you good relationships and peace, which will help you in any given circumstance. Of course it could have been the case that the eunuch refused Daniel’s request. Even if that had happened, God would still have helped Daniel to persevere in the situation.

The test of time

Daniel made his proposal to the eunuch. They would eat vegetables and drink water for ten days. At the end of that time their appearance would be compared to their peers. Vegetables and water on the surface of it do not seem as great a meal as all the fancy food and drink they were refusing. No doubt some of the other young men around them must have been wondering “why are they eating only that?” However Daniel and his friends had faith that at the end of the testing period they would be better off. They were right. At the end of the ten days, their appearance was healthier than their peers. In today’s world, some of the decisions we make today to please God will be like those vegetables and water. On the surface they will appear plain, less “tasty”, but over the long haul will be better for you. Saying no to joining a gang, having pre-marital sex, smoking, experimenting with drugs etc is putting your faith to the test in the same way Daniel did. In essence you are saying “I believe that by avoiding these things, I will be pleasing God and will be better off than those who decide to do them”. Your better position may not be proven over 10 days; it may be years. However one thing is for sure. When you decide to please God, He will bless you. He will ensure that you will have no regrets for taken what seemed at the time to be the “boring, bland” option!
Ten times better
Once they had successfully come through their test, Daniel and his friends were found to be ten times better than their peers. Because they took a stand for God, He blessed them, and caused them to stand out amongst their peers. He can do the same for you today. When you decide to live for Him and make the choices that please Him, He will bless you in more ways than you can imagine.

Points to Ponder
- Is there a situation in my life where like Daniel, I am expected to do something that displeases God in order to “fit in”
- Have I thought seriously about the consequences of my decision?
- What can I do in order to avoid making the wrong decision? Have I prayed to God about the situation?

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