Young Men, Peer Pressure, and Phony Friendship (part 1)

Sometimes young men become friends because they have enough in common to cause an association. Occasionally, these so-called friendships are not really friendships; they are relationships that have evolved to combat boredom or loneliness. There are some young men who are really worried about their image, identity or manhood. Maybe they are athletic, maybe they are not. Maybe they are intelligent, maybe they are not. Some young men, due to lack of wisdom, moral parameters, or self-control; decide that it is essential to drink liquor, use drugs, gamble, have a sexual conquest, (to brag about) or do something dangerous or daring. Of course this can be commonplace for some young men; but not necessarily for all of them. One thing that a person can be fairly sure of: young men do not usually like to do those things alone. This is where peer pressure starts to show it's ugly face. This is when value systems begin to take a back seat to the demands of so-called friendship. This is when a young man who does not keep himself busy enough to the demands of something wholesome, yields to the demands of forces that can destroy him. (to be continued)