Peer Pressure Power

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time. Buckle up! You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus.

In this season of True Girl, we’ve seen how music affects our emotions and our beliefs. And we’ve been listening to some of the eleven songs on the True Girl Original album to explore what we believe about God, ourselves, and our world. 

Today we’re going to talk about something else that impacts what we believe. Well, someone else actually: our peers. Today on True Girl, Dannah Gresh and Staci Ruldolph are gonna talk about peer pressure and what you’re supposed to do with it.

Let’s get moving for season 3, episode 7 titled “Peer Pressure Power.” Here’s Dannah.

Staci Rudolph: Hey there, true girl! It’s your girl, Staci.

Dannah Gresh: Hello, friend! It’s Dannah.

Staci: Today, I want to share a story of someone who may have seemed a little crazy in the moment, but what she did and the impact she left is unforgettable!

Can you guess who I’m talking about, Dannah?

Dannah: Hmmm. Mary, the mother of Jesus?

Staci: No, but also unforgettable!

Dannah: Mulan?

Staci: Try again.

Dannah: Princess Diana? 

Staci: No.

Dannah: Okay, Joan of Arc?

Staci: Wrong again.

Dannah: Miss Piggy?

Staci: Come on now.

Dannah: Eileen King, my wonderful assistant?

Staci: She’s pretty awesome, but nope!

Dannah: Jane Goodall?

Staci: Uh uh.

Dannah: orrie ten Boom?

Staci: No. 

Dannah: Joni Earekson Tada?

Staci: Uh uh. 

Dannah: Are you talking about yourself, Staci?

Staci: Wow, aren’t you just sweet as pie.

Those are all great guesses, but . . . I’m actually talking about Rosa Parks!

Dannah: Ahh, of course, that was actually my next guess. You just didn’t give me enough time. 

Staci: Sure, it was. Okay, so if you already know Rosa Parks' story, sit back and enjoy it again, because you can never hear it too many times! But if you’ve never heard it, get ready, because it is so inspiring.

Dannah, you want to know a fun little fact?

Dannah: Yes.

Staci: Did you know when I was younger, I was actually enamored with Rosa Parks.

Dannah: Oh, this is so cool!

Staci: I would write her letters, thanking her for what she’d done. She actually lived in Detroit, not too far from me. 

Dannah: I bet our writer Noli didn’t even know that when she chose this story. 

Staci: She didn’t! When I read this I was like, “Oh, my goodness!” I like knew everything about Rosa Parks.

Dannah: That is so cool. 

Staci: But I want to tell you that story now, okay?

Dannah: Let’s do it. 

Staci: Let’s go back to the 1950s. It was December 1. Rosa Parks was a forty-two-year-old seamstress working in Montgomery, Alabama.

Rosa was African-American, and as happy as the 1950s were, it was also a time that was very hard for black people. For example, there were some crazy rules black people had to follow when they rode the public bus. The front seats of the bus were reserved for white citizens, while the back was for black citizens.

Dannah: I don’t like this story very much, Staci.

Staci: Me either, Dannah, but it’s a true story and one worth telling. So, hang in there with me, okay?

Dannah: Okay. 

Staci: One day on her way home from work, Rosa took the bus. Well, Rosa and some other people were sitting in the front when a white man entered. The bus driver asked the four people sitting up front to move to the back. Three of them willingly went on their way.

But Rosa Parks did not move.

She decided to stand up (or I guess sit down, really) for what she believed in: that all people should have equal rights, no matter who they are or what they look like! She just sat there quietly and peacefully.

Later on she would say, “I felt the Lord would give me strength to endure whatever I had to face.” Then she reported, “God did away with all my fear.”

It was the beginning of the end of bad rules on the bus. 

What people did was they refused to use the bus system until the rules were changed— and it lasted over a year—but guess what?

Dannah: What?

Staci: It worked! After a long, hard fight, black men and women could sit anywhere they wanted on the bus!

So, I would say that when Rosa Parks was sitting in that seat, even when everyone was telling her to move, she probably felt pretty crazy.

But that kind of crazy was good! It was worth it! And it brought crazy change!

Dannah: Okay, she probably felt a whole lot of peer pressure to stand up and walk to the back of that bus, but she stood, or as you mentioned sat, her ground. She stood her ground. 

Staci: She did! I think we can all agree that it takes a lot of strength to go against the crowd. And I guess the question we often ask is, where in the world do we get that strength from?

Dannah: Well, I’m glad you asked, because here’s my friend, you probably know her by now, Chizzy Anderson. She’s going to read some Bible verses packed with peer pressure power. 

Staci: And listen carefully because there’s a lot to think about, but you got this, we believe in you! Just lean in and put on your thinking cap. Here’s 2 Corinthians 5:13–21.

Chizzy Anderson: 

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Staci: So, let’s break it down.

Dannah: Okay, the biggest takeaways I get from this Scripture is that we may have to look crazy to honor and obey the Lord. But let’s talk about why?

Staci: Okay, so we’ve talked before on the podcast about our sin nature and how it actually goes against what God guides us to do.

So for those of us who are in Christ, we are not living for our “old life” or for our sinful desires anymore. 

Instead, we are living a new life—a life that is filled with good fruit, like love and peace and goodness! We’re kind of like a new person!

Dannah: Not like, we are new! And since we are new, our lives kind of can’t just stay the same.

Staci: Yeah, that would kind of defeat the purpose of being made pure and holy.

Dannah: Okay, so we know what our old life and new life is. Our life before Jesus, and our life after Jesus, what’s that have to do with being crazy?

Staci: Well, first of all, not everyone in this world is in Christ. Some are still in bondage to their sinful nature because Jesus hasn't changed them . . . yet.

But our new life calls us to put others above ourselves and to love everyone—even when we don’t want to—and to obey God!

Dannah: Yeah, and all of those things can seem pretty crazy to this world. One of the things we really believe and take a stand for at True Girl is that God designed two genders: men and women, boys and girls. 

And we believe that the Bible tells us what it means to be male or female. So at True Girl, we teach you what kind of girl God wants you to be. Well, three times in the last year a company we wanted to buy supplies from for our subscription boxes said “NO, we won’t do it, because we don’t like what you teach.” We look crazy to them! But that’s okay. I don’t mind.

In fact, you may look crazy if you embrace truth, too. There may be people who don’t like you for it.

Jesus actually said in John 15:18–19. Let me just read it,

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

Staci: God actually chose you to be different. We’ve been talking a lot about the fruit that we bear and how our life should reflect Jesus.

If we’re becoming more like Jesus, we may seem a little different. But that, my friend, is probably a good thing.

Dannah: Yes, it is. And the next time you feel peer pressure rising up, don’t just give in. It’s okay to be different! Dare I say, crazy. 

If someone asks you to go to party you don’t think is good . . . be crazy! If someone invites you to watch a Netflix movie that your mom and dad say no to . . . be crazy! If someone tries to get you to be mean to someone else . . . be crazy! Stand up for what you know is right, just like Rosa Parks did!

That verse tells us that if we look crazy because we are obeying God, it’s actually a good thing. 

You’re still gonna feel a little odd, I’m sorry to say that. But that’s because when we live the way God wants us to live, it’s different. But listen to me: normal is overrated! 

Staci: Ultimately, the love of Jesus gets the first and last say in everything we do.

Dannah: That’s true. Definitely, God’s love gets the first and last say in everything we do. Not some other kid’s opinions. 

Staci: Jesus died for us. Can we not live for Him in everything we say and do? 

Dannah: Sometimes being crazy for God is a lot easier than what Rosa Parks did. In fact, I remember being probably about twelve years old and I was at a party. And there were no parents there. My mom and dad would not have liked that. There were some bad things there that should not be there, and I gave in to peer pressure. Now, I didn’t do anything bad that day. I just didn’t leave. Why? Because I was afraid of what other kids would think.

I wish I had walked home that day. Again, I didn’t do anything bad at that party, but I proved that I’m capable of being a coward instead of one of God’s courageous crazy girls! 

Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Maybe you have a story where you wish you had acted differently. 

Staci: Well, let today be your fresh start! God is so good at giving us do overs, and I officially declare today that from this day forward you get to choose to be one of God’s courageous, crazy girls.

Dannah: You’ve probably figured this out by now, but we have a song to help you remember 2 Corinthians 5:13–21. Here is “Crazy!”

Song: “Crazy!”

I’m not afraid to stand out in the crowd, no.
Won’t compromise or keep my faith on the down low.
I’ll just move if You move when You say so,
Won’t just do what they do to fit in the mold.

Oh, oh, oh,
I’m on the go, go, go;
But not with the flow, flow flow,
One of a kind, like a photo, oh.
I’m not afraid to be crazy, crazy.

I’m really likin’ how He made me, made me.
It don’t matter if they go left or right,
I know I was born to be a light,
Not afraid to be crazy, crazy.

Really likin’ how He made me, made me.
I just love being different, that’s just fine.
I’ll be crazy on the daily, crazy, crazy how He made me.

Crazy, crazy.

Don’t gotta settle, be a pioneer and lead the way.
I’ll get that crown of life, cause I’m reppin Jesus’ name.
Known for love, even if they say I’m cra, cra
If you with me put your hands up and say:

Oh, oh, oh,
I’m on the go, go, go;
But not with the flow, flow, flow.
One of a kind, like a photo, oh.

I’m not afraid to be crazy, crazy.
I’m really likin’ how He made me, made me.
It don’t matter if they go left or right,
I know I was born to be a light.
Not afraid to be crazy, crazy.

Really likin’ how He made me, made me.
I just love being different, that’s just fine.
I’ll be crazy on the daily, crazy, crazy how He made me.
Crazy.
I just love being different.
Crazy.

Aye, just throw confetti in the air.
I bring the crazy with me everywhere.
Do you dare?
Like spreadin’ love instead of hate on the Internet.
I would bet, that if we practice what we preach, we could reach
A whole generation in our nation to a new elevation.
Gotta stand out, be loud start now go all out.
Don’t be a clone, just know, just know,
That there’s a billion people in the world, but only you can own it.

Don’t let the people change all the quirks they tell you to hate,
Cause He made you a perfect way.
Follow Jesus cause He can save.
If you’re 15 or 98, ballerina or like to skate,
Just stand out lead the way, be different, okay?

Put your hands up if you’re crazy.
Yeah, won’t you stand up if you’re crazy.
Come on, put your hands up if you’re crazy.
If you’re crazy, uh, yeah.
I’m not afraid to be crazy, crazy.

I’m really likin’ how He made me, made me.
I know I was born to be a light, oh, oh, oh.
Not afraid to be crazy, crazy.
Really likin’ how He made me, made me.
I just love being different, that’s just fine.
I’ll be crazy on the daily, crazy, crazy how He made me.
Crazy, crazy,
I’ll be crazy, hey.

Dannah: True girl, go be crazy!

Claire: “Crazy” is one of eleven faith-building songs for tween girls on the True Girl Original Album available at MyTrueGirl.com. You can also find the tunes on Spotify and iTunes. We’re always so grateful when you support the ministry of True Girl by purchasing a CD or digital copy of the album at MyTrueGirl.com.

Join us for a world changing episode of True Girl next time. 

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts calling women of all ages to live set-apart, crazy lives!

“Crazy” music and lyrics written by Carmen Hadley and David Thulin.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.