Let's Talk About Bullying

Shinedown, a very well-know secular rock band has a song off of their album Amaryllis called Bully. (How fitting for the topic huh?) Brent Smith, lead singer for Shinedown sings at the end of the first verse: “Seems I’ve crossed the line again for being nothing more than who I am.”

Those fourteen little words pretty much sum up what I’m going to talk about in this blog. Whether it be long or short, it’s not up to me. I’m following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Whether you are someone still in high school or are 72 years old, everyone has or has had a bully in their life. Whether you were in the grocery store or going to your next class, you’ve gotten dirty looks. Sometimes, the attack doesn’t have to be up-front. The bully may not realize he or she is making you feel inferior.

I’ve been bullied most of my life for being myself. There was no reason behind the bullying. I had medical issues, I had learning disabilities. Yeah, I was overweight, I was “ugly,” I talked weird. I was afraid to wear nice clothes to school or out in public for a long time because I was scared of what people were snickering into each other’s ear. I was afraid they were laughing at me because “I was too ugly to be wearing that style of clothes” or “I wasn’t cool enough.”

If I walk into my local Walmart today and see one of my classmates, I will walk out the door and go to a different store. But you know what? I’m over it.

Some people might say, “Well John, how can you overcome your past and what people think about you? That’s a big thing.” I overcame it with the help of Jesus Christ whether I knew it or not. He heard my heart scream while I was silence.

I went to Walmart one night around midnight after I had gotten off of work. I went and got some microwavable spicy jambalaya. So I checked out, grabbed my bags and walked out casually. As soon I walked out into the dark parking lot, someone yelled a profane word, that I don’t suggest anyone to say, across the parking just because I was walking out of Walmart.

Do you know why he did so just because he saw me? That person saw the opportunity to get a “laugh” because he knew I would take it. That’s the problem though, I took it in school. I never fought back.

“Well John, what do you mean by fighting back?”

Here is what I mean: Don’t let what a bully tells you sink inside of your brain because when it does, it’s not good. Out of all of the bible stories, beside the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I’m certain that you know the story of David and Goliath.

Goliath was apart of the philistine army. Goliath was also was a giant. A literal GIANT. Everyday for 40 days, philistine soldiers came out mocking and pushing the israelites to the point of war. Saul, the king of Israel and his army were completely scared of Goliath.

David, himself went to King Saul, asking Saul to let him [David] go and fight Goliath, the giant. Saul agreed and David was on his way.

In 1 Samuel 17:43-44, after David was making his way to meet Goliath, the Giant, spoke.

“He said to David, ‘Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods. ‘Come here,’ the Philistine called to David, ‘and i’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!'” – 1 Samuel 17:43

David came back in response, fearless.

“David Said to the Philistine: ‘You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies – you have defied Him. Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.'” – 1 Samuel 17:45-47

As soon as David wrapped up his courageous speech, he charged to the battle line. He pulled out his weapon, aimed and struck Goliath, the Giant in the forehead. The Giant fell to the ground face first.

Can you guess what David’s weapon was?

A STONE AND A SLING.

Shall we add more pointers?

• David was a young boy, possibly a teenager.

• Goliath the Giant was said to be a towering 9-foot, nine inches tall.

• David wore no armor but only his regular clothes.

The moral of the story is to be courageous in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Stand up for yourself. Don’t pay attention to what that giant says to you. Pray for him or her. Use your stone and sling: the Bible and prayer.

Don’t listen to the negative things that people tell you and don’t believe it neither.

Psalms 1:1 says, “How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers.”

Please don’t follow a certain path just because what someone tells you to do. Sometimes being cool is wrong. I’d rather not be cool and live for Christ than be cool and be ashamed of Christ because in the end, living for Christ is the cool thing to do. Follow God’s advice and do as He says.

I tell you because I’ve heard stories of depression, self-harm and even suicide and let me tell you, whoever you are, you are precious and Jesus Christ thinks you are worth dying for you.

Fight back: Don’t listen to what those bullies tell you. If you get psychically bullied, go tell someone. Don’t hesitate. If you see someone getting bullied, verbally or psychically, don’t hesitate to go tell someone. Don’t worry about what people may call you, you may have just saved someone’s life.

Love y’all.

JDW