I would like to share this because there are so many children who are being bullied at school and different places who feel sad and unloved. Some are even bullied at home as I was and even beyond into adult hood, the bullying persists.
I wrote a response to someone who was concerned about the bullying that has been going on. I want to encourage all those who have been bullied and even are being bullied now.
The world is full of bullies, more than ever before. Our response to them can make all the difference in our emotional and spiritual growth.
Those who leave others out when they think you are not "cool enough", have little to no character. They are locked into being manipulated and controlled by others.
It is a joy when we are able to enjoy life even when we are not surrounded by others. The need to continually impress others is bondage. If we are not accepted for ourselves then there is no joy in pretending for others.
I feel the pain of those children who are rejected, mocked and excluded, this has been my experience for most of my life. Those who bully like to make it appear as though it is our own fault. But in reality it often has nothing to do with us. Their inability to accept us the way we are made, is the problem.
We do not dress the way they do, we don't do the things they do or like the same things they do, making us a target for abuse.
Here was my response to the post about the bullied child:
"I praise God for this difficulty. Those that are popular usually turn out badly. I was rejected and all the people I know who were rejected are more free to develop their own character apart from pressure from the group. I know it hurts now, but it may be a blessing in disguise. Besides that, who wants to be friends with snobs who think they are better." (Unquote)
I remember an Andy Griffith show many years ago that brought this concept home. Andy had placed someone in jail, but didn't want to offend the prisoner because of something he wanted out of him Opie, the child was angry at the way the prisoner disrespected his father so he walked up to the bars and kicked the prisoners shin through the bars.
Andy quickly apologized to the prisoner for what Opie did and explained to Opie that he should do that, it might make the prisoner not like us.
The classic and unforgettable response never left my mind in all these years, Opie asked the question quite adamantly, "why would we want a criminal to like us?"
It is interesting that so many Christians work so hard to make the unsaved like them, while the unsaved are in the middle of hating God. This is not loyalty to God, this is loyalty to the unsaved.
We are not told to get people to like us or God, we are told to bring the gospel in words that show them their need for salvation through Christ and the cleansing of their sin available to them through faith in Christ.
When our focus is to get people to like us, we come in bondage to their whims and manipulations. When we preach truth whether or not anyone will like us, then we have freedom to tell the truth without fear.
