Rebellion

Danger entices us. "Don't look!" someone says, and our first reaction is to look. Sometimes it seems "cool" to do something dangerous and different because you know you will get in trouble for it. I know that seems like an oxymoron but it's true. The world proclaims that if you are a teenager, your sole purpose in life is to have fun and be rebellious. Ignore every moral your parents have ever instilled in you, lose your virginity, drink, party, and love life. If you do that you are totally okay. Normal. It is accepted and allowed. Yeah, sin is fun- but only for awhile. It's got to end sometime. And usually it doesn't end easily. The majority of teenage rebellion is directed towards parents and authorities. Most teenagers don't rebel against their friends. We have an awesome example of rebellion in the Bible and what God thought about it.

Numbers 16

Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent and rose up against Moses. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?"...

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.' "

...So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.

...the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

These men were rebelling against their leaders- Moses and Aaron, and they were swallowed up whole by the earth. God obviously takes rebellion seriously.

Proverbs 17:10-12 (New Living Translation)
¹⁰ A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding
than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool.
¹¹ Evil people are eager for rebellion,
but they will be severely punished.

As young adults, our sole authority over us besides God is our parents. They have been endowed by God to raise us and we are called to obey them whether we like it or not. We will be disciplined and rebuked by many of our peers, but that will make no difference in our life if we do not listen to their advice. Be wise and understanding instead of stubborn and rebellious.

Proverbs 19:20 (New International Version)
Listen to advice and accept instruction,
and in the end you will be wise.

Your Sister in Christ,

Jessica