We must obey God rather than human beings.
—Acts 5:29
Herbert Porter, an aide to President Nixon, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the Watergate investigation.
Here is an exchange between Senator Howard Baker and Porter.
Baker: “Did you ever have any qualms about what you were doing? . . . Did you ever think of saying, ‘I do not think this is right.’ Did you ever think of that?”
Porter: “Yes, I did.”
Baker: “What did you do about it?”
Porter: “I didn’t do anything.”
Baker: “Why didn’t you?”
Porter: “Because of the fear of the group pressure that would ensue, of not being a team player.”
Giving in to peer pressure inevitably leads to the loss of one’s moral compass.
Knowing what is right is stillborn unless given birth by doing what is right. “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (Jn 13:17).
If you must stand alone, stand alone.