Bullying

Bullying. We can probably all say that we have been bullied at one time or another in our lives, either when we were young or possibly even as adults. Some of us may even be bold enough to admit we have been the bullies at some point in our lives too. A vast majority of us, if we are honest, could say that we have been on both sides of the bullying issue. We have most likely bullied others that have been smaller or weaker than us and we have probably been bullied by people older and stronger than us.

The idea of bullying made me think if there were any examples in the Bible of well known bullies. I thought of two, one Old Testament and one New Testament, but there are probably many more. Just happened that my two bullies share the same name: Saul!  King Saul bullied David to the point that he chased him around the nation of Israel trying to kill him because he knew he had been anointed to be the next king. Saul, later known as Paul, was a bully to all the Christians in and around Jerusalem. He was such a bully, that he even chased them down and put them in jail for their beliefs. Stephen was stoned, with Saul’s approval, because of his belief that Christ was the Son of God.

No one has ever been bullied into believing in Christ as their Savior. People make that decision because they are loved into it. We show the love of Christ to them in all that we do and they see how we live our lives and that should draw them into wanting what we have. If you can bully them into Christianity, then someone can bully them out of it.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.“ - Matthew 5:16. Let the light of Christ draw men/women to Him, not bullying.  “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”- 1 Peter 4:8.

Have a great day and God bless