Rebel: redefined.

     What is a rebel? A rebel is someone who goes against the flow. Someone who purposefully does what everyone else in NOT doing.  Someone who does not follow the culture and it’s trends. If you dress unlike your culture on purpose, you are a rebel. If you do not engage in the usual social activities of your culture, you are a rebel. If you do not follow the same moral code as your culture, you are a rebel.
     In the past, it was rebellious to disobey parents. It was rebellious to have premarital sex. It was rebellious to dress immodestly.  It was rebellious to not attend church.  The culture was against all these things and those who did them were rebels. They were the minority.
     Today, what is the cultural trend? What is common and accepted? Disobedience, promiscuity, drunkenness, immorality, immodesty, dishonesty and general unruliness are all prevalent. That is now the culture. We cannot stay stuck in the past and say that the people who do these things are rebels. Rebels are people who go against the flow. How are these people going against the flow? They’re not! They are the flow! They are now the majority.
     So who am I? I, who do not drink, smoke, dress immodestly, engage in premarital sex, and attend church, Bible study and prayer meeting regularly. I, who obey my parents and the laws of the land. Am I not a rebel? By doing these am I not rebelling against the status quo? Now, I’m the one who is going against the flow!
     Jesus was a rebel. In a society that cried out for someone to violently remove the Roman rule, He taught peace and love.  In a culture where social classes were highly important, what did he do? He touched the untouchables.  

     I am a rebel. What are you?