Consequences

Are you a rebel?

Some people fight hard to maintain the label of “rebel.” Other people work hard to fit in, to be one of the crowd. Where do you find yourself on that continuum? Sometimes, being a rebel is a good thing, especially when the crowd is doing the wrong thing. But when you’re rebelling against the standards God has put in place, it’s never a good thing.

Case in point: A guy I knew in high school was a likable guy. He was funny and good-looking. He had tons of friends. Won all the accolades at our school. Went to church. But he didn’t think the rules (God-given or otherwise) applied to him. So he rebelled against them. He drank on the weekends. Flirted with lots of girls without regard to their feelings. Didn’t bother to apply himself in school. That guy, with so much personality and potential, ended up dead on the side of the road after a terrible car wreck. He was in his early 20s. A mix of drugs and alcohol caused him to lose control of the car, ultimately costing him his life. His rebellion had big-time consequences.

While that example is pretty extreme, here’s another example of rebellion whose consequences aren’t quite as obvious:

A sweet teenage girl is in church every time the doors are open. She knows where to find every book of the Bible. But once the preacher starts talking, she tunes out. She’s thinking about what happened last night, or where she’s going for lunch, or what that guy she likes is doing right now. She passes notes to her friends, distracting others from the message. She’s been present for almost every sermon and lesson since she got baptized after Vacation Bible School one summer when she was 6 years old, but she’s not learned much that she actually applies to her daily life. Sure, she knows what’s right and what’s wrong, but she’s not thinking about God all day. She’s thinking about herself.

This girl's rebellion may not look that bad. While the consequences may not be obvious to others, she feels them. She wonders why life seems so frustrating. Why others are able to get close to God and she isn't. And she wants to know there's more to life than what she's experiencing.

This week’s devotions are about rebelling. Today’s devotion talks about consequences. What consequences are you dealing with in your life right now? Are there any situations in your life where you’ve rebelled and think you’ve escaped punishment? Make no mistake, you will be held accountable by God for your rebellion.

In what parts of your life do you need to stop being a rebel? I’m not saying that you have to follow the crowd instead. I’m just saying that you need to stop going against God’s standards. That means you’ll do your own work at school instead of getting the answers from your friend. It means you’ll keep the music in your car at a low volume and not text or talk on the phone, like you promised your parents you would. It means you’ll go where you say you’re going and do what you said you would do.

Rebellion doesn’t always come with a bad attitude. It’s easy to rebel against God with a smile on your face and a Bible in your hand. It’s the heart that matters, remember? And God always knows what’s in there.