They fight to be free, but they want the wrong kind of freedom. They already have political freedom. But they want more. They want to be free to do as they please. They don’t want anybody to tell them what to do. They despise rules. They resent authority. When someone denies their wishes, they are ready to fight.
These warriors don’t always fight physically though some of them do. For the most part they use nasty attitudes and hateful words. Somehow they tell themselves that no one has the right to question or correct them. If anyone dares to stand in their way, they declare war.
Children want their way. That is why they must be corrected from an early age. “The rod and reproof give wisdom; but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame” (Prov. 29:15). Let a child have his way and he will expect it for the rest of his life.
Teenagers want their freedom. Part of this is understandable. At puberty we naturally feel that we are capable of making decisions for ourselves. But that feeling is no excuse for a disrespectful attitude. It is not a reason to rebel. Unless teenagers learn to be humble and submissive, they will fight their parents, their teachers, and the community every step of the way.
But teenagers are not the only freedom fighters. Some adults never grow out of a rebellious spirit. Amazingly, they do the same things that real heroes of war do, all for the wrong cause. They sacrifice to be free to live the way they want. They give up close ties to their family and church. They turn against friends who warn them about the way they are headed. They are willing to lose their health if that is the price they have to pay to live in sin. We honor troops who give up the conveniences of home and time with family to go overseas and fight for our liberty. The freedom fighters I’m talking about give up everything good and meaningful in life just so they can drink, party, have sex, or play on Sunday instead of going to church.
People who fight for liberty in a nation look at things differently and find a way to advance their cause. People who want to be free from the law of God do the same. They may claim that there are contradictions in the Bible. They may say science disproves the Bible. They may argue that a loving, all-powerful God would not allow evil in the world if He exists. They may attack the church because of hypocrites or corrupt church leaders or doctrinal division. But this brigade knows how to use smokescreens. The reason they make these charges is not because they are factual and logical. It is a spirit of rebellion.
There are people today who are like Ishmael, whose hand was “against every man, and every man’s hand against him” (Gen. 16:12). Their attitude toward the Lord is “we will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). But in the end they will find out what Gamaliel warned the Jews. Fighting against God is a bad idea (Acts 5:39).
-Kerry Duke
