Rebel against cutlure

Did you ever ask God for something, or someone, you knew was wrong? One of those requests you really wanted, but later you were so thankful God didn’t answer that request? Time and distance from the request gave you a broader picture and you could then see why God said “NO!” Thinking back you now see that you original request was one of disobedient desire and sobriety brings understanding.

What would happen if God did grant a disobedient request? Your request being in rebellion to His desires for you and He permitted it? What would that look like? I would quickly realize that it wasn’t what I really wanted in the first place and that the consequences of disobedience are not worth it.

Israel Rejected God

The Bible tells us the story of Israel’s formation as a nation. God called Abraham out of Ur and his descendants moved to Egypt. The miraculous 10 plagues of Egypt and crossing of the Red Sea gave birth to a nation seeking a land. The period of Judges is like the childhood years of the nation. They were scattered tribes constantly getting caught up in childish things.

Toward the end of this period, under the leadership of the prophet Samuel, they began to mature into adolescence. They saw their need to unite and grow. Unfortunately, instead of crying out to God and waiting on Him, they looked at the cultures around them and decided they “wanted a king like all the other nations.”

Samuel knew this wasn’t what God wanted and went to God with it. God said to Samuel, “they are not rejecting you, they are rejecting Me!” After God sent Samuel to warn them of the consequences of their actions, which they threw off, God “granted their request.”

This is a grave warning for God’s people, that when we seek the wrong way and make disobedient requests for a long time, God may allow it. The people suffered consequences under king Saul, yet God remained faithful and later gave them king David.

Reorient our Perspective

The people of Israel were looking at the other nations and not at God. God’s plan all along was to provide a king for His people, but the people became impatient.

Similarly we look around at our culture and begin to desire what they have. Today our culture pumps a distorted view of relationships and romance across the airways into our minds. We begin to believe we want, need what the culture says is normal.

God created us as relational beings. Way back in the creation story, God said “it is not good for man to be alone,” and so He created a help-meet for him. This is at the very core of who we are, don’t you think it makes sense that the enemy of our souls would attack us here. What does our culture tell us is normal? Don’t you feel the pull to be like everyone else?

Paul urges us in Romans 12:2 to not follow the pattern of this world, but to be renewed in our mind through the Scriptures. The Bible is God’s manual for life and godliness. Everything we need to have healthy relationships is found in the Bible. Yet, we don’t look there, we look at celebrity magazines, internet sites, pornography, TV shows, romance novels, self-help books, friends and family. Most of which are broke and do not reflect Gospel saturated living. We need to get our eyes off of culture and onto the Lord!

Reprioritizes our Values

With our eyes on culture we begin to value what the world does. We make popularity and relationships gods of our lives. We will do anything it takes to fit in and look cool. We won’t stand up for what is right. We will allow our boyfriend to go further physically then we wanted just so he doesn’t break up with me. We will watch movies and videos so we can fit in with our friends at school. We will listen to music that is blatantly anti-biblical so we can be “relevant” with culture.   

The Bible tells us that our bodies are not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:13). It tells us that we are bought with a price, the very blood of Christ and therefore belong to Christ. We are more then animals, we are created in the image of God! In Christ, everything we do we should do for the glory of God.

In order to live this way, we need to dethrone the gods of this world and put Jesus Christ first. As the author Hebrews states, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith!

Revolutionize your view of relationships

A “Rebel” is one who goes against he flow. One who is willing to stand up for what they believe in. Today, so many say they are being “an individual” as they rebel against God’s Law. However, they are following the mainstream worldview. Following Christ is being a true rebel, one who goes against the flow.

Do not conform to the pattern of relationships this world has to offer. When the world says “why get married because 50% of marriages end in divorce.” Say “I don’t buy that! In Christ it is different!” When your friends say it is “just a kiss, or just sex,” say “No it is not! It is a sacred thing meant to bring oneness in marriage.” When the world says you need a relationship to be fulfill say “your right, a relationship with Jesus Christ!”

Only Jesus can truly fulfill the emptiness inside. In the coming weeks we are going to explore these areas and more on how we can redefine what relationships are to be like and learn how to navigate the “dating scene” in a way that brings glory to God.