Last Wednesday, we ended our Tough Issues curriculum with a focus on bullying. In some ways this was an easy topic to tackle because we all know that bullying is wrong, but in some ways it was difficult because... we all know that bullying is wrong. Schools and independent non-profits have been raising bullying awareness for years now, and rightly so. So many students have be hurt and have even lost their lives as a result of bullying. There are many ideas to help stop and prevent bullying. But, many of these ideas skip a very important step - they do not take much time to focus on the why of bullying. Why do bullies bully, and why should we not involve ourselves as the bully or even the bystander?
In Northbound on Wednesday night, our leadership team helped shine a light on the bullying that we all have taken part in in big and small ways. We were reminded of the hurt caused by sub-tweeting (a 140 character or less message written on the social networking site Twitter visible to all who follow (or subscribe to) the author's account that is clearly in reference to someone without directly identifying the person(s)). Attention was called to the hurtful nature of gossiping, belittling another's abilities within particular interest groups (art, drama, band, sports, etc), and ostracizing persons from peer groups or social activities. There are so many ways that we are bullied and take part in bullying.
When we begin to see the world as God sees it and understand that each person is a child of God created in His image, we are able to understand fully the harm of bullying. No matter the reason for bullying, none is so great that it excuses the intentional harm caused to one of God's children.
As you talk with your student about bullying, think about the ways that you might perpetrate "micro-aggressions" on others. What example are you giving your children? Do you typically talk about and treat others (no matter how frustrating they are or how right you feel) as children of God who bear His divine image?
Bullying stops when we each individually decide to stop bullying others.
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