Bible Verses
“Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.”– Romans 13:1-2
“Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.”- I Samuel 12:15-15
“But they rebelled against me and would not listen. They did not get rid of the vile images they were obsessed with, or forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I threatened to pour out my fury on them to satisfy my anger while they were still in Egypt..” – Ezekiel 20:8
“If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat. But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!.” – Isaiah 1:19-20
“Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”- Hebrews 3:15
Christian Bible Lesson Overview
As the above verses state, rebellion over an extended time will result in disaster. We all have immediate reactions to stressful situations, but to continue to rebel over a long period of time is undisciplined and leads to more stress and harmful relationships that could have been avoided.
It is important to see the good in people and work with them to create workable relationships. This is even more true with relatives. Especially brothers and sisters. When family members live together for extended periods of time, it is likely that there will be situations where one family member rebels against another and weakens the strength of the family unit.
Christian Bible Lesson for Today
Bob and Clare were brother and sister. Bob was sixteen years old and Clare was fourteen years old. They had a stable relationship with some times of conflict that did not last. However, Clare felt some jealousy about Bob. He was older, played sports, and was the subject of most of the family conversations. Clare felt better when Bob would make a mistake or fail at something. She knew that was wrong, but she continued to feel that way.
Clare started discussing some of Bob’s challenges openly during family discussions. Whether it was Bob’s academic challenges, football, or problems with his friends; Clare would find a way to talk about those issues.
Then Clare continued to mention a fumble that Bob had during a key football game. She discussed it several times and Bob became very angry and started to rebel against Clare. He began to mention that she had no measurable skills in sports and was in no position to discuss Bob. Bob even started yelling at Clare in front of the family.
One evening, two of Bob’s friends were at the house when Bob attacked Clare. One of the friends was very uncomfortable and let Bob know that he did not appreciate Bob’s attack on his sister. Bob told the friend how his sister started the rebellion, and he was just reacting to it.
Bob’s friend told Bob that he needed to be better than that. He needed to show some respect to his sister even though she was the one who started the attacks. The friend said that you will both benefit if the attack stops and you support each other. His friend asked, “Why do you want to attack her, you do not benefit from attacking her?”.
Bob thought about it and realized that his friend had a good point. Just because Clare attacked him, did not mean that he would benefit from attacking her. If he treated her properly even though she attacked him, they may become closer and the attacks may stop.
Bob decided to stop attacking his sister and look for ways to compliment her. Within two weeks, she stopped attacking him and their relationship became very special.
Christian Bible Lesson Summary
Just because someone attacks you does not mean that you will benefit from attacking them. This does not mean that you let everyone walk all over you. It means that you make a strong effort to avoid being rebellious over an extended period of time. You may immediately react to a situation, but it is important to not extend that rebellion longer than necessary.