“You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
(Genesis 4:7)

In a world hell-bent on having its own way, it is terribly difficult to cultivate the right attitude toward authority. The “QUESTION AUTHORITY!” mentality is so interwoven into the fabric of our society, it seems impossible to counteract it. Realistically, about the only place we can come to terms with it is in our homes. Are you doing this? Be honest. Within the walls of your dwelling are you maintaining the controls? Maybe these three warnings will encourage you to stay at it...or start today.

1. Childhood. A rebellious nature is conceived in a home where parents relinquish control.
2. Adolescence. A rebellious spirit will be cultivated among peers who resist control. And if it isn’t curbed there, it culminates at—
3. Adulthood. A rebellious life must be cursed by God when He regains control.

Take it from one who experienced it and deals with it week after week, nothing is more painful to endure. Some must discover the need for a submissive spirit behind bars. Others, following a divorce. Still others, through a crippling disease or a horrible automobile accident or a series of blows in life that drive us to our knees and force us to learn how to walk humbly with our God.

When Cain curled his lip and stood tight-fisted in rebellion before his Maker, he was given a sobering warning that has been preserved in Scripture for all to read and heed: “If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7).

Nothing has changed. The mark of Cain has been branded on this generation. Resisting authority still crouches like a beast at the door, ready to spring and pounce on its prey, be it parent or policeman or teacher or employer or minister or president—whoever. Some never learn to “master it” and therefore spend their lives “under the smarting rod of God,” as the old Puritans used to say. Those who question authority face a hard future.

My friend, are you in that category? Do you have a loose grip on authority? Do you think you can continue to endure God’s attempts to humble you?

Taken from Strengthening Your Grip by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2015 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Worthy Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.