Deuteronomy on Peer Pressure

God takes peer pressure pretty seriously ... maybe we should, too:

"If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again" (Deuteronomy 13:6-11).

By the way, Jesus says something similar about what we're to do to OURSELVES when we're tempted:

"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell" (Matthew 5:29-30).

We're not typically that ruthless with sin, in ourselves or others. As I said before, maybe we should think about how we can imitate Christ in this regard?

As an aside: we had our first softball game of the season on Monday night (we won!), and here's my personal tally:

Score: 2 runs (I love having good hitters come to bat after me ... as long
as I can get on base - even if it's a walk - they give me a good chance at scampering home; I'm NOT wild about being the first batter in our lineup -- oh, the pressure! -- but if coach thinks it's for the better good, I'm willing to do it).
Sore: Three days later, I'm still sore in my hamstrings, quads, abs, lower back, biceps, and forearms. At least I didn't permanently damage anything (last season, I tweaked my quad a bit in the first game). I doubt we'll have muscle soreness in heaven, huh? Will we all be in good shape in heaven?