As I sit in the student center at the PIttsburgh Theological Seminary trying to get some work done prior to class, my mind keeps wandering back to my high school experience. The torture of having to wake up and go to the very place which I hated. You see every day I would go to school just knowing that it was going to be a bad day, there was no hope. I was going to be made fun of.
This is what is going through the minds of bullied teenagers as they ride the bus on their way to another daunting day of school. There is no escape and the worst part is no one is stopping it. People that you thought were your friends stand by and say nothing as jokes are said to your face. That was what it was like 10 years ago and I can only imagine how much worse it is today.
The hardest part was that I could not understand why my peers enjoyed putting me down. Granted I did not have the best hygiene, I had hand-me-down clothes and I was overweight, but is that enough reason to make fun of someone? I began to believe what they were all saying and the only way in which I could deal with all the pain was to be proactive and make fun of myself and laugh it off. The plan was to beat them to it.
No matter how teens deal with it, bullying leaves deep scars of insecurity and self doubt. It is no surprise then that bullied teens are 30% more depressed and 20% more suicidal then non-bullied teens.
Parents, Teachers, Friends: we all have to fight bullying. Far too long have we let it fester and grow in our schools. We fight drunk driving and drugs because we have seen the direct problems that it causes in the lives of teens. We must do the same with bullying.
So what does the Bible have to say?
Jesus say LOVE your enemies and PRAY for those who persecute you.(Matthew 5:43-48) Repay their HATE with His LOVE. When I read those words I don’t even know how to begin doing that. There is not much comfort in those words for me or for someone who is being bullied. But then I remember what God said in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” This is what I was seeking, and the message we need to be spreading, YOU ARE NOT ALONE !!!!! God is with you and WE are with you.
So then what can we do about this issue of bullying? How can we stop the hate? Paul writes in
Phillippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
If anyone can speak to being bullied it is Paul. He was beaten, stoned, attacked, spit on and driven away on many occasions. Instead of attacking back what does he do? He rejoices in the Lord and makes his requests known to God through prayer.
Parents be praying for your kids and their friends DAILY, Teacher be in prayer for your students DAILY, Friends be in prayer for yourself and your friends DAILY. Together through the power of prayer we can come before a holy and righteous God who loves and cares for us, and we can lift up this serious issue which is plaguing our schools.
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