This comes as no surprise to anyone, but the issue/problem
of “bullying” has grown to epidemic proportions. Many are saying “Stop
bullying!” or “We need to stop bullying!”, yet they are not addressing foundational
principles that will help get to the heart of the issue. Rather, they are address symptoms and say
they are “helping,” which is like saying a Band-Aid is “fixing” cancer. Please read through the following principles
and consider how we need to address the foundational issues of bullying.
What is Right? We must teach a standard of right and wrong
that is unchanging. Nearly everyone will
say that the bully is wrong. Yet, one
must admit is that in the majority of cases the bullied has broken God’s
standard of righteousness by wrongfully responding to the bully even before it
becomes a “bullying” situation, and usually afterward, as well. We must bring both parties to the point of
recognizing that God sets a standard of right and wrong His standard does not
change with society’s whims. We
therefore bring them back to the truths of God’s Word. Psalm 119:9, 11 (NKJV) “How can a young man
cleanse his way? By taking heed
according to Your word. Your Word have I
hid in my heart that I might not sin against You.”
Who am I? We must
teach individuals that they are created in the “image of God” (Gen. 1:26-27),
as the greatest of all of God’s creation.
Our value, therefore, comes from the fact that I am “fearfully and
wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14 My
value or worth does not change when someone calls me a name, or makes fun of my
clothing. My value does not change by
how smart, good-looking, or talented I am.
These things are all temporary, and will pass away. The bullied needs to change the way they
look at themselves, to see how God looks at them. The bully needs to recognize that they are
attacking one whom God specially created for His purpose, and they will give
account to Him for their behavior.
As one created in God’s image, all of us are to be
reflecting the character of God by striving to be loving, caring, holy,
forgiving, gracious servants of Him.
How do we resolve our
conflict? The majority of bullying
situations grow out of unresolved conflict.
This conflict and fighting comes as a result of our own selfish desires
(James 4:1). We must learn not to respond to others sin by attacking them. I must learn to respond calmly (Prov.
15:1). We must learn that retaliation
is never right (Prov. 20:22; Rom. 12:17;
I Peter 3:9). We must know that God has
saved revenge as His right and responsibility (Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30). He sees and knows all, and He is all-powerful,
and therefore able to deal with the problem.
We must trust Him to deal with the problem through the authorities that
He has set up or personally. It may not
always be the response for which we were wishing, but we can be certain God
will deal with it.
Our response is to do everything in our power to live
peaceably with all men (Rom. 12:18).
This does not mean we can compromise the truth of God’s word, or disobey
His
commands, but we can do everything up to that point to bring
about peace in our relationships.
The starting point: In just this short space we have recognized
that there is a standard of right and wrong that has been compromised in our
relationships. This “missing the mark”
of God’s righteousness is called sin.
And the “wages of sin” is death (Rom. 6:23). That is bad news, but the
good news is that the “gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord”
(Rom 6:23). God in His love sent Jesus
Christ to die on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin (John 3:16). We therefore must recognize our sinfulness
and the consequences or our sin and believe that Jesus Christ is the only
remedy for that sin. Are you ready to
put your faith in Christ to take the punishment for your sin?
This bullying problem will continue to increase if we do not
teach and train individuals with these truths.
For more help, daily encouragement and more thorough explanations, as well
as, other topics such as love and authority: find “The Bully Solution” on Facebook
or twitter (@BullySolved) and follow so you get all the updates, or look up www.thebullysolution.blogspot.com
to follow our blog. The bully solution
is a ministry of First Baptist Church of Littleton, IL . www.fbclittletonil.org
Faith-based
counseling to help those struggling on either side of this issue is
available by calling 309-257-2290.
