Bullying

Just came across this one, I wrote it a year and a half ago but it's just as true for today.

Many adults are in fact bullying others under the frequent disguise of expressing themselves, in doing so their children are learning that this is the acceptable way to treat others.  It should really be no surprise we hear about cases where children in schools are being bullied, many of us witness this behavior everyday though many others.   There are three types of bullying:

• Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things. Verbal bullying includes:
• Teasing
• Name-calling
• Inappropriate sexual comments
• Taunting
• Threatening to cause harm
• Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. Social bullying includes:
• Leaving someone out on purpose
• Telling other people not to be friends with someone
• Spreading rumors about someone
• Embarrassing someone in public
• Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying includes:
• Hitting/kicking/pinching
• Spitting
• Tripping/pushing
• Taking or breaking someone’s things
• Making mean or rude hand gestures

Now days it’s become easier than ever before to “vent” our feelings, share our “opinions” or just give someone a “piece of our mind”.  Now since we are in the age of instant technology we can send out a text, an email, or instant message and can even submit it through a number of social media sites.   We all have the “right” to do these things because we live in a free country that for the most part supports our freedom of speech.  Even though we have that right doesn’t mean we always should exercise that right. “1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”  Our text, email or instant message can instantly discourage and tear apart the person we send it to, and our social media post can do more damage regardless of it being submitted public or private even if names aren’t mentioned because many know exactly who the post is referencing.  Standing up for our beliefs and the word of God is commendable especially in a day and age when Christians are encouraged to sit down and follow the main stream.  We do however have to make sure we are going about it in the right way.  We have to stop and ask ourselves the reason why we feel the need to express our thoughts and honestly evaluate if we are doing so to glorify God or if we are giving into another spirit.  We can really be acting on the spirit of fear, a self-righteous spirit, a prideful spirit, a spirit of condemnation, a critical spirit, a spirit of anger or rage, a spirit of bitterness or unforgiveness, a spirit of jealousy or envy, a spirit of contention, a spirit of maliciousness and the list can go on and on.  Before we speak we should always THINK:
T~Is it true?
H~Is it helpful?
I~Is it inspiring?
N~Is it necessary?
K~Is it Kind?