by Kevin Conner

We are probably more tempted to go with the flow than we care to admit and we probably give in to the temptation more than we care for anyone to know. There are many temptations to go with the flow. Let me just see if we can name a few:

•  surfing the web like everyone else at work
•  parking illegally because everyone does
•  driving faster because everyone goes over the speed limit
•  not claiming that income because lots of people cheat more on their taxes
•  watching the weekly top show because everyone is doing it
•  buying the nice clothes cause everyone has them

I could go on, but I think you may get the picture. We may not say that we are doing it because everyone else is doing it, but in heart that is what motivates us to go out and do that very thing. It comes from a desire to fit in and be accepted by those around us. It is not a new desire. As kids we try to fit in by doing what everyone else is doing. Sometimes it kept us out of trouble and sometimes it got us into trouble.

There is one story in Scripture that has always been a challenge. It is the story of the three young men and the fiery furnace. In Daniel 3 we find these three faced with peer pressure, yet they stood firm in obedience to God. Here what Scripture says, “ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up " (Daniel 3:17-18). These men were not sure what was going to happen, but they were sure that they would not conform to the world. They were not sure if they were going to die, but they were sure that they would obey God's Word. That brings a challenge to us. Do we have a limitation when it comes to obeying God's Word?

It is a classic excuse, “Well, everyone is doing it.” This excuse is used as a license to sin. John writes in his epistles that one evidence or test of a believer is their love of the world. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him ” (1 John 2:15). John is saying that those who love the world are not believers. Are you finding yourself making the excuse that everyone is doing it? That the world is doing it?

I know it is a hard thing to not follow the world because we may be ridiculed and mocked. We may be laughed at and jeered at. We may loose our job or be cursed at. In that moment of decision to do what everyone else is doing think of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.