On Bullying

This is a continuation of the discussion we had Sunday night in youth group. I hope that we can continue to be a voice and encouragement for those both in our community and our society who feel bullied and continued to be bullied by others. We had this lesson/discussion immediately proceeding a lesson on salvation and our aim in doing this lesson was to encourage our young people that one of the best ways to live out their salvation was to stand up for those who are bullied and oppressed in our societies. Here are a few things to draw from what we learned.

1) Bullying is far greater than on the bus- One of the big mistakes people can make is to believe that bullying stops after high school. We challenged our students to see bullying as one person exerting an unfair advantage over another. So, the truth is bullying happens a lot in our society. It happens when the employer or person in advantage takes advantage of someone without a voice or person of influence in our society. Sex trafficking, discrimination, gossip, lies, and the list can go on and on about people getting bullied in our society. One of the first steps we as Christians need to do is to educate people and allow them to see that bullying goes in our society in many ways and that if we as followers of Jesus Christ really take him seriously we need to be intentional about standing up against bullying in our society.

2) In Luke 15- Jesus tells three really powerful stories about things that were lost and become found. With the most powerful story being the Prodigal Son. But, right before the stories, the teachers of the law come up to Jesus and say that He is a man who eats with sinners and the unrighteous. What a comment, but essentially without going into it full blown, they described Jesus as someone who associated with those who are bullied. What a thing to be said about Jesus, and what if it was said about us: that we were people who welcomed all into our church, home, and life?

3) Finally, we want to be people who recognize and understand the solution. I will be the first to tell you, the solution to this problem is far greater than one person, one idea, or one church. But, that should not stop us from looking at issues in life and doing our best to make right the people who have been wronged in our society. One of the valuable first steps is to understand that power and wisdom come through prayer. Before acting first pray, and seek what God would you have do right here and right now. There's value and insight to be gained in prayer, and I hope that all of us would relish in the fact that we can do something to make right all the wrongs in our society.