I come across a lot of interesting anecdotes as a teacher. One of the stories that stood out to me most is because it shocked me and changed my perspective on people as a whole.
When it comes to wisdom, I often make the mistake that people consider decisions and truths much in the same way I do. It’s been said that it is a great folly to assume other people think the way you do. I always figured that people evaluate information based on two basic criteria: whether it’s true, and whether they want to accept it and apply it. A person can do one or both, which is the way I’ve typically approached things. I always assumed that when someone rejected sound wisdom it was based on one of those two things. I’ve seen people accept something as true but blatantly ignore it, as well as someone consciously welcome a lie with open arms.
The student in question was having a discussion with his classmates about various vices in life. It was then he stated that he had never had the desire to smoke until his father warned him not to. This caught my attention and I inquired further. He told me that his dad had smoked all his life and had warned his son about what smoking did to one’s health, appearance, and finances. Yet for some reason, this experiential wisdom passed on by a concerned father was the thing that placed the seed of desire into his son.
That baffled me to no end. The son could see the results of his father’s vice in front of him and hear his father’s clear warning regarding it. All these evidential negatives were collected and presented like exhibits in a courtroom. Why then would this spark a desire to do it? Is that not the epitome of foolishness?
I assumed this was perhaps an isolated incident, but as I asked around the classroom, and then people I was acquainted with as time passed, I found this to be the norm rather than the exception. People will do -even passionately pursue- something for no other reason than that someone told them not to do it.
I can only wonder as to the reasoning within the heart (if there is any) that allows this foolishness to blossom. It seems the rebellion is of a selective sort. You generally don’t see people shooting themselves with guns just because someone warned them it would kill them. So what defines the terms of this rebellion? Is it an issue of perceived time? Such as, a gun will kill you instantly, but a cigarette will take years. If so, that makes the rebellion much more petty and childish when all they are doing is playing a game with time. It’s almost like a “See? I can get away with it! You were wrong! Your rules don’t apply to me!” If that rebel were truly serious about proving the other wrong, they would opt for the instant version over the prolonged version. And that would be a very short-lived rebellion indeed.
I’ve known friends who have challenged sound wisdom and authority because they fooled themselves into thinking they were special- that they were above any consequence and could beat “the system”, whatever system that might be of authority or causality. It’s like an insolent child with a smug little sneer, irrationally stamping his foot at his parent and yelling “No!” for no other reason than a rebellious assertion of that child’s coveted autonomy.
I’ve recognized humanity’s tendency to rebel against honest authority and sound wisdom based on poor reasoning or just selfish desire. But to rebel for the sake of rebelling is the most arrogant, childish, foolishness I can think of. It’s been said that we would all kill God if we had the means, simply so that we would answer to no one. That seed of rebellion resides in every person deep down. If we can usurp God, then we can be our own gods and do as we wish; we can be our own definition of righteousness. It is foolish arrogance of the highest order. It was the sin in the Garden of Eden. We were told we could rebel against God, be our own gods, and there would be no consequence. It is the oldest lie in history and one we keep falling for. It’s how Satan works.
