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Posts from the President Vol 6

"No one likes a bully."

Here are three lessons from this five-word sentence. First, we need to protect people who are bullied. It does not matter who they are, why they are being bullied, or how they respond to being bullied. No one likes a bully because being bullied damages us. When we are bullied by kids at school, by people at work, or by family at home, it destroys a piece of our human dignity. Laws should be created and upheld that prevent bullying and protect human dignity for every person no matter what. More than laws, the practice of bullying should be socially unacceptable for all of us.

Second, bullies need to be loved, and even liked. Did Jesus die for bullies? I think so. Just like every person, bullies need to be loved into the Kingdom. Sometimes loving a bully takes a certain toughness, a willingness to name the sin for what it is. Sometimes a bully needs to be expelled, or isolated, or made to "do time" in some way or another. But in every response to bullying we need to respond in love to the bully. We need to understand the underlying causes and not just deal with the symptoms or the behaviours. Bullies need to be loved, maybe more than most people, because no one likes a bully.

Third, we need to look at ourselves. When do I use my position of strength or power or intellect or position or voice to bully others? Bullying can be a subtle sin, one that escapes our notice (but not the notice of others). We still need to confront people, we need to offer correction, we need to address their actions. But how do we do this without being a bully ourselves? A couple of words from Scripture might be the best I can offer. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "Love is patient, it is kind; love does not envy; love does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

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