POPULAR

This week, I would like to talk about the social image of teenagers, especially Christian teenagers. One of my friends, let’s call him Rick, goes to a church not far from WCAC. At school, he wears shirts proclaiming his faith and his church. He tells people that he goes to youth group, and that he does volunteer work for church too. Now, most of us often say, “Hey, that’s cool!” But one time, another friend turned to me and said, “Rick is Christian? Really?” See, Rick has a terrible vocabulary, his sentences littered with swears and racial slurs, and is pretty crazy at parties. He also lashes out at people and makes fun of those who can make targets for him. Unfortunately, this makes him pretty well-liked by some of the kids around Neuqua.

The inherent problem is that being Christian and living out Jesus does not grant us popularity in the high school pecking order. So the choice now is, will you pick Jesus, or your social image?

Here are some quotes on popularity:
Popularity is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.
~Thomas Paine

Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit.
~William Penn

Popularity is evanescent; applauded today, forgotten tomorrow.
~Edwin Forrest

Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world.
~Thomas Carlyle

So ask God to make clear the distinction between favor on Earth and favor in Heaven. I hope that when the times come for you to make that choice, then you really have an internal battle to see what’s right.