QUIET REBEL

Quiet rebel

This post is about what rebellion can be.

We usually think of rebellion as angry, strident, vigorous refusal to obey, accept limits; and disrespect of those in authority over us. However, I was  thinking recently about what rebellion can also be:
I remember being in my 20's and articulating to myself, in my mind, "I know better" than those who made up whatever rule it was that I thought I didn't need to follow. Actually, I really think my culture (middle class  America in the 1970's; and specifically the United Methodist Church?) influenced me to think that way. Thought leaders of that era were saying that the Bible was an ancient book that had rules that applied to people back in those days, but that some of those rules were not necessary now, so we didn't have to obey those rules. It is really sad that my church did not see the problem with the attitudes of the popular culture, and formulate a way to teach that God's word is special and life-giving. Everlasting. (I went off course there, at the end; but that IS past of what happened in the Methodist Church.

When I say that, I can see how I came up with the attitude that "I know better".

What I want to say is that people with the " I know better" attitude are not considered "rebellious" and would even be insulted if someone called them that. However, I'm just saying ...