THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

Much of God's covenant with Israel of old dealt with human relations. Various and sundry laws pointed out how the Jew was to conduct himself among his peers. One of these admonitions was, "Thou shall not follow a multitude to do evil" (Exodus 23:2). This was a very important decree; it showed the danger of peer pressure and pointed out very explicitly the dangers of being led astray by evil men. Peer pressure was an important factor in their lives; it has been from that time to the present. And perhaps as never before, peer pressure is an issue we have to wrestle with.

A leading educator noted that peer pressure is the strongest influence exerted on young people today. He stated that in most cases it is twice as strong as the influence of home and family, and yields a far greater influence than religion. I share this educator's convictions. All young people want to be accepted by their peers. And if to do so means disobeying parents and selling out personal convictions, some are willing to do so just to be a part of the bunch. In dealing with young folks and their problem of peer pressure, we often quote and expound on 1 Corinthians 15:33 -- "Evil companionships corrupt good morals." I contend this is a very important verse dealing with this subject. This admonition does caution against the dangers of peer pressure being exerted by those who are void of spiritual convictions and virtues. Let us continue to warn our young people of the dangers of their associates that rob them of their virtues.

But is all peer pressure centered in young people? Does this pressure cease when we become adults? Well, certainly at all stages of life there are peer pressures put on us by those with whom we mix and mingle day by day. The Bible is not silent on this matter. Men and women of God have always faced immense pressures in dealing with their peers. And when God has spoken, He has always done so with a stern warning against letting our associates rob us of our moral integrity.

One of the most striking examples of this occurred in the life of Peter. Peter is one of our favorite Bible characters. He was truly one of Christ's most ardent followers. We hear him saying, "Even if I must die with thee, yet I will not deny thee" (Matthew 26:25). We hear him declare, "Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and death" (Luke 22:33). But on that fateful night of the arrest and mock trial of the Lord, Peter "followed afar off" (Matthew 26:53); he stood with the wrong crowd, the enemies of the Lord (Matthew 26:69). And upon being asked of his allegiance to Christ, he cursed, swore, and denied that he even knew Him (Matthew 26:69-74). Peter, when alone in a crowd of unbelievers who were the enemies of Christ, relented to peer pressure.

What a lesson for the Christian today. I contend that when we are alone, with the wrong crowd, those with no regard for the Lord nor spiritual values, we are at the most vulnerable moment of our spiritual life. And so often, like Peter, the pressures from our peers lead to our downfall.

There are numerous other examples in the New Testament on this subject. Peer pressure played a leading role in the rejection of Christ by the rulers of the synagogue (John 12:42, 43). The Scriptures tell us they believed on Him, "but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God."

Likewise, peer pressure was the deciding factor in the heinous crime of Herod (Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:23). Herod feared and respected John, but his oath, along with "them that sat at meat with him" (his peers) prevented him from backing down on his promise, and resulted in the vile deed of having John the Baptist put to death. In this we see the influence and power of wicked men and the insidiousness of peer pressure.

But there is another side of the coin of peer pressure. Not all the characters of the Bible collapsed under the pressure of their associates. Many stood, often alone, in the face of severe pressures put on them by others.

Let us ever be aware of the immense pressures put on us by our peers, especially those with no regard for God and spiritual values. And let us profit from the mistakes others made and redouble our efforts to not yield to these peer pressures as they did.

(The way some might sing some well-known hymns if they were being completely honest)

The responsibility God gives to fathers is great. Ephesians 6:4 tells them that they must bring up their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Sadly, many fathers, even those who claim to be Christians, fail to accept the responsibilities of fatherhood causing much grief in many families.

It behooves us, therefore, to teach men their God-given responsibilities in respect to their children. One of the best ways to do that is to study the examples given to us in the Bible of those men who were good fathers.

There are many men we could consider. Abraham, Zebedee, and Joseph, the "father" of Jesus, come to mind. In this article, though, we will focus on a character that is not widely known or closely studied. We will examine the example of Elkanah, the father of Samuel.

Elkanah is presented unto us in the first chapter of First Samuel. Though it does not seem that much information is given concerning him as a father, in reality, there is a great deal to be learned from him in this text (1 Samuel 1:1–28).

He was concerned with worshiping God (1 Samuel 1:3). This speaks more of him than stating his wealth, physical appearance, fame, etc. Notice, he did not go to worship alone. His family accompanied him (1 Samuel 1:21). Children need to accompany parents to all services.

He trained his family to worship by supplying them with individual portions for sacrifice to God (1 Samuel 1:4). Fathers need to train their children to worship properly today.

He loved Hannah, his wife, the mother of his children (1 Samuel 1:5). Husbands are to love their wives (Ephesians 5:25). Through the love a husband has for his wife, the love for their children is revealed. Someone has said, "The best thing a father can do for his children is to be a good husband to their mother."

Hannah prayed to God for a son and promised to devote him to service to Him if her prayer were answered (1 Samuel 1:11). Elkanah concurred with her decision and allowed his son Samuel to be given to Eli, the priest (1 Samuel 1:3).

The name Elkanah means "God has possessed." He was the man he was, the husband he was, and the father he was because he was God-possessed. He had given himself to God. God was in control of his life. Such is probably the key to success in fatherhood -- whether or not one’s life has been given in submission to the will of God.

All blessings are from God. James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father” (James 1:17). In everything we are to give God the glory. Paul exclaimed, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Philippians 4:19, 20)!

It is our job to evaluate our part in receiving gifts from God and doing our work for the Lord. The word fear or reverence is often used in Scripture when reference is made to the work of a Christian. Peter admonished, “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear (I Peter 1:17); and Paul stated, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

There is a balance we need to maintain between God providing, and us doing the work He has asked us to do. Pride or ego gets in the way. We think that we have accomplished something with our own ability, our own resources and our own know how. If in our mind or even with words we begin with ‘Look at what I have done…,’ beware! Begin or end statements about accomplishments with ‘Thanks to God,’ or ‘To God be the glory.’ By doing this we show a proper fear and respect toward God.

Abraham, physical father of the Jews, accomplished many things in his life. Paul says this of his faith: “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20). Even when we are blessed with great faith, we are to give God the glory!

Solomon was offered any thing he wanted. He asked for wisdom. God was pleased with his request but we know that wisdom deceived Solomon because he forgot it was a gift of God. Knowledge and wisdom are great blessings that should be used to glorify God (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

Paul was given a thorn in the flesh so that he might not be exalted above measure – all that he did was to be to God’s glory and not his own (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). May our reverence for God move us to give Him the glory in all that we do like Abraham, Solomon and Paul!

“Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son – Enoch” (Genesis 4:16, 17).

As we crowd ever more tightly into the cities and live our lives in the bosom of urban potential and possibility, the more uneasy our hearts become. The impersonal forces that stalk our city streets terrify us and leave us to wonder where, if anywhere, we belong. In our hearts, we feel cut off from "home."

"Anomie" is a word used to describe this feeling. Derived from the Greek word for "lawlessness," the term was coined by French sociologist Emile Durkheim to denote the conditions that result when a society's "normative code" begins to disintegrate. In more recent years, "anomie" has come into popular usage as a description of the "alienation" felt by individuals when they sense that the structures of society are collapsing. It's that sickening, rootless feeling that the world is coming apart. One of the great ironies of human society is that this feeling of alienation is most prevalent where people are the most closely packed together.

The point is not that rural life is good and city life is evil. It is certainly possible to choose a godly character and live a quality life in either place. But cities do have one great disadvantage: when a society rejects the "normative code" of moral and ethical truth that has previously held it together, the results will be felt in a more concentrated way in places where people have massed together in greater numbers. If the normative code has been rooted in the reality of God, whatever social consequences attend the rejection of God, those consequences will increase exponentially as the population of a city grows more dense. It can be argued that the need to mitigate the social consequences of sin is one reason God defeated the project at Babel and forced the human race to spread out over the face of the earth (Genesis 11:1-9).

But whether urban or rural, this world's life leaves us with a gnawing uneasiness. We can hardly dispel the feeling that we're adrift, cut loose from what were meant to be our moorings. And a large question confronts us: from Whom are we alienated?

The soul hardly ever realizes it, but whether he is a believer or not, his loneliness is really homesickness for God.