Giving in to get in.

Kendra wanted to be asked to join the new secret girls’ group at school more than she’d ever wanted anything. She did everything she could to make the girls notice her. She even brought cookies from home to give away. 

Her efforts finally paid off. The Seven Sisters (that was the name of the group) lost a member when her parents moved away. The other six gave Kendra a special coded invitation, with a key to help her read it. The invitation said “We are considering you as our Seventh Sister. Please come to Sandy’s house at 7:00 tonight.”

Kendra could hardly wait. Her heart beat faster as she rang Sandy’s bell at a minute before 7:00. She had heard whispers at school about what joining the group was like. She knew that if she joined, she would have to do something silly. That was OK. She’d always been a good sport. But when the girls handed her a list of things to do to be accepted, she felt sick. It read:

1. Do the homework for each of us for one week, in whatever subject we choose.
2. Promise to obey us without question for one month.
3. Get your hair cut in whatever way we tell you.
4. Wear your clothes backward for two days
5. Never tell an adult what our group does.

She could go along with wearing her clothes backward, even if everyone laughed. But what about the other things? Wouldn’t it be cheating to do their homework? What if the group demanded that she shave her head, or something almost as bad? She didn’t like the item about not telling adults, either. What were the ‘sisters’ doing that they didn’t want anyone to know about?

               “I – I’ll have to think about it,” she stammered.

They laughed at her, but Sandy said, “You can have until noon tomorrow. Otherwise, we are going to ask Diane.”

Kendra swallowed hard. Diane was the girl who always kept even with Kendra in getting good grades. Kendra also knew that Diane was eager to be a Seventh Sister. “Well – OK,” she said. She felt like a prisoner being given time off just before being executed.

That night Kendra twisted and turned in her bed. The group seemed to be the most popular one at school. It would be great to be part of it.

“Would it really?”

The sound of her own voice brought Kendra out from under the blankets. Would it really be great, being part of a group that had such rules? What would it do to her if they did things she knew were wrong?

Kendra didn’t join. She told the girls she was sorry, but she couldn’t go along with them.

Diane did join, and at first, she acted like it was the best thing that ever happened to her. But soon Diane stopped smiling. On one side of her head, her long beautiful hair had been cut short to only 2cms long. One day the Math’s teacher asked Diane and Sandy to stay after class. Kendra didn’t need to be told why – Sandy usually got C’s in Math’s, but she’d been pulling A’s for a week.

                “It could have been me,” Kendra admitted to herself. Suddenly she didn’t care about not being a ’sister.’

Kendra discovered she’d rather not “give in” in order to “get in.” She wasn’t about to stop believing in her own values in order to be part of the crowd. Remember what Jesus said, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?” Luke 9:25. Being part of the crowd isn’t worth losing yourself, and the right crowd won’t expect you to.