Jeremiah 18 Stubbornness 

If you are of my age, you recall the comic strip Dennis the Menace. The Israelites are just like that character. God says obey Me but they respond: “ But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!” [Jer 18:12] When Dennis disobeyed, his parents would sit him in the corner to “think about his behavior.” His famous quote came from that time: I may be sitting down on the outside but standing up on the inside. That is just how the Israelites answered God. They were stubborn and refused to change. Sometimes we are just like that when we know to do good but instead choose to do what is wrong. 

When that character quality surfaces how do we respond? Are we like Dennis and the Israelites or do we humble ourselves and repent?