An Enticing Influence

A violent man entices his neighbor
       and leads him down a path that is not good.
Proverbs 16:29

          Have you ever been enticed to sin?  Has another person ever made sin look so good and profitable that it seemed almost a crime not to give in to the temptation?  It is a strong reality that we can be enticed into sinning by our friends and those who influence us.  This is not to say that we do not have the Spirit inside of us, fighting for us to stay the course.  But sometimes the Spirit can be drowned out by the urgings of those around us.
         
          Look at the media today and ask yourself if media influences our actions.  Then take a look at those you hang around with and ask yourself if you have mimicked any of their behavior in the past month or week.  Something, somewhere, somehow is going to influence the actions that we take.  We may think that others don’t influence our actions, but when we look closely we’ll note that there are a lot less non-conformists than conformists in the world today. 
         
          Teenagers in particular are susceptible to this sort of influence.  We all feel a basic need to be accepted.  If our families do not meet this need, we will look elsewhere until the need is met.  The movies’ portrayal of the lone hero is a myth.  Even the lone hero needs the acceptance of some group before loneliness does him in.  We can find the most appropriate acceptance in our relationship with our Lord and Savior, but we also need the acceptance and support of godly friends and counsel as well. 

• A disciple picks the right influences in his life

Application:  What has influenced your behavior this past week?  Do you ever find yourself dropping down to sin level because of friends?