Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Rebellion: Not the Way They Tell it in Star Wars...


              For the past few months, I’ve been studying my Pennsylvania Driver’s Manual in order to get my permit when I turn 16 at the end of the month.  Prior to turning 15, I hadn’t even given a thought to the fact that I’d be driving soon.  It was actually my friend who got me excited about driving and motivated me to study my manual.  While reading more of the manual recently, I came across some fascinating statistics.  Not all of them were surprising, but one hit me a little differently:
“Recent Pennsylvania statistics show that 30 percent of drivers ages 16 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking.  This is despite the fact that here in Pennsylvania, as well as in every other state in the U.S., there are zero tolerance laws, meaning you may not drink if you are under age 21.”
                This statement bothers me.  The fact that almost a third of crashes in my age group involved blatant disregard of authority is horrifying!  Knowing that drivers 16-25 years old have the highest rate of unbuckled seat-belts is not encouraging either.  I mean, how desperate to defy authority must you be in order to ignore something as simple as buckling a seat belt?!  The amount of rebellion in my generation today is staggering.  But it’s not just the unsaved.  I’ve seen this open defiance in places where I’m surrounded by those who claim to know Christ – in my homeschool group, and even in my church.  This kind of behavior honestly scares me.  We get so many examples of the consequences of rebellion in the Bible.  One such example is when King Saul wants to consult Samuel the prophet, who was dead.  He decides to talk to a medium (someone who uses witchcraft to bring up the dead) who lived in En-dor.

                                                      (Probably not the medium Saul talked to...)

                 Saul was already in trouble because he disobeyed God and spared some of the Amalekites and their animals against God’s command.  Trying to avoid God, he tries another route – bad idea.  His thoughtless decisions cost him his throne and eventually his life.  That story is just one of many in the Bible about rebellion; there are many others to go along with it.
                What frustrates me the most about the rebellion in my generation, however, is how many of the teens today use it as a separator between them and others – namely their parents.  Each new teen generation seems to have this crazy idea that they know more than the ones before them; that they have all the answers and everyone who believes differently is wrong.  What kind of insane idea is that?!  Ahem, ahem…
“The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.” 

Sure, not too many people want grey hair nowadays, but back in Bible times it was a sign of wisdom.  Those who were older had a lot more experience and were much more knowledgeable than the younger men.  Sound a little familiar?  No matter how much it might disappoint, we as teens aren’t the wisest of the bunch.  Find some Yoda-type figure, and learn from the grey-headed!

I’m interested to hear your thoughts.  Post a comment below!