Over the past little while I have been noticing the different forms of rebellion in children. Some are more obvious then others, while the less obvious are no less then out right rebellion. As parents, we seem to accept some forms of rebellion as an expression of one's individuality. Yet to allow these forms in our children's attitudes toward us, will nurture rebellion to God later in their spiritual lives. For this reason,, God commanded the Israelites in the Old Testament:

Stoning a son because he is rebellious seems unnecessarily harsh, but a rebellious son becomes a rebellious man. For Christians, under the New Testament, God does not want us to stone our sons. However, we must address rebellion as serious sin that needs correction:

The sin of divination or witchcraft is an offence to God because one has substituted worship of God with the worship of Satan's realm- which rebelled against God. When people rebel against God, they are following in the footsteps of Satan. and are guilty of divination as imitation is one of the highest forms of worship. Satan's rebellion was a usurpative rebellion- seeking to replace a recognized authority with another of one's choosing. Many Christians would agree that idolatry is usurpative rebellion, as we replace God with another object of worship. Yet many do not make the connection that if we live for the accumulation of money or other things rather then God's kingdom and righteousness, we not only commit idolatry but are guilty of usurpative rebellion as well:

Your child may not live for things, but in the same attitude they might replace their parent's authority with that of a peer group- usurping their parent's authority. Another rebellion that children suffer from is active rebellion- a refusal to comply with an authorities directives by active resistance. Rather seeking to replace the authority, here the people are reacting in defiance to an authorities directives. It is the actions of disobedience which manifest active rebellion:

With children, you know they heard what you said, because they reacted by doing the opposite. These forms of rebellion are obvious, unlike passive rebellion- a refusal to comply with an authorities' directives by ignoring them. The difference between the two is that in active rebellion they do something; in passive rebellion they just do nothing. With our children and in the church, this seems to be the most common form of rebellion:

With children you begin to wonder, "Did they really hear me or do they have a hearing problem. Another form of rebellion is divertive rebellion- refusing to comply with an authorities directives by substituting other well meaning positive actions more favorable to one's preferences. This is one of the most subtle forms of rebellion, because those who rebel in this way give the illusion that they are very supportive and helpful, while rebelling against the authorities' directives. For example: God may call a person to missions, but instead of going, they donate half their gross salary.

With children, you tell them to rake the grass; but instead you find them drying the dishes with mom. Drying dishes is good, but to obey is better. Then there is compromisive rebellion- yes, I will obey the authorities' directives, but I will do it my way. In this way, there is only a partial compliance, as concessions need be made before submission to the directives is completed. This is the most deceptive form of rebellion as it offers compliance to the letter of the law while undermining its very spirit. In the church, it is to have a form of godliness without being godly in character. In Jesus day the Pharisees were master of compromisive rebellion:

With children, you give them a list of specific instructions, and they respond by doing them in their order. The last type of rebellion is interim rebellion- to comply with an authorities directives but in our own time frame. Our modern Christianity has rebelled against God, as we succumbed to the tyranny of the urgent. It has been said: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." We just do not have enough time, and God being the most gracious will just have to understand:

With Children they respond to a request with, "Yes dad, I will do it; but first let me finish this for a minute. All these are forms of rebellion, We as parent may not care to address them, but the question is, "Does God care?" For it is written:

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