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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Standing Up to Bullying



Verses: Psalms 129: 1 - 8

Song inspired by the chapter:  Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.



My thoughts about the verses:

As a victim of bullying I can tell you that words do matter.  I read something the other day that said sticks and stones may break my bones but words haunt me forever.  Any person that has been bullied in their past can remember the things that were said.  It is sad to think but there are people in the world today that are still living with the hate that was told them when they were kids.

We as Christians are all too often guilty of bullying.  When we decide that certain people are not allowed into our church circle we are bullying.  I think it is so ironic that the people that should be helping are often the victimizers.  We as a church have all too often said things that are hateful and pushed people away.  We have turned the house of God into a place where different cliques instead an opening inviting community.  We have placed people into different circles and we do not play fair with each clique in their involvement with the church.

It is even sadder when you realize this happens even in the most welcoming of churches.  All you have to do is watch how people interact on a Sunday morning and you will see the different cliques.  You do have those that go out of their way to make everyone feel welcomed.  Yet, you still have people that are a part of this circle or that circle.  Very often the circles do not intercept with each other.  No wonder people run away from organized religion.

We as individuals Christians need to realize that we can stop this from happening.  We need to accept people just as they are.  We do not need to put expectations on how people would behave.  We need to eliminate the stereotypes that we have established.  Instead of wanting cookie cutter Christians in our life we need to be open in accepting people just like they are.

Imagine a world where people no longer felt like they were expected to act a certain way to serve God.  They did not have to sing if they didn’t feel comfortable.  They didn’t have to go through rituals of standing or kneeling at services just because others were doing that.  They didn’t have to pray like everyone else.  They could be their own self doing what God has inspired them to do.

Those Churches that have opened the doors to all are in a new frontier.  They have the opportunity to change how their church reacts within itself.  These churches can choose to make the personal experience of Christ the highlight of their ministry.  They can allow people to do things that God have called them to do.  Just think about all the different ministries could exist if we allow the people of the church to express God in their own way.  Instead of setting established pattern of ritual ministry we need to open our doors to new ways of experiencing Christ.

The church has to act first by stopping the bullying that exists.  Our children are learning from us how to separate people.  We are showing them that people are not worthy enough to be friends.  It is a shame when you think about the fact that the church has influenced hate in this world.  Instead of being a place that does nothing but show love and teaches our children how to accept others we have become a place of exclusion.  We have set our standards so high that we exclude the very people that God came to minister. 

Prayer:

We praise you God for loving us just the way we are.  We thank you for not expecting us to be one certain way.  We worship you for your loving embrace.  Help us to open our hearts and our churches to those that the world has set aside.  Help us to be a community that puts love before exclusion.  In the name of the Creator of us all we pray.  Amen

Questions:


Remember one day you were on the outside looking in.  Do you remember how that felt?  If you are now on the inside isn’t it time you help others feel the warmth that you experience?

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