Stand Up To Bullies

I was in so many fights in Middle School I can’t even count them. Actually, to call them fights would be a misnomer. In a fight, two people participate. Bullying is probably the more accurate term. For whatever reason, many kids throughout my Middle School years wanted to pick on me. I am convinced my reticence to ever fight back led to more skirmishes. Ironically, my own desire for peace at any cost brought fights in my direction. Most times, I would suddenly find myself staring face to face with someone who had some problem with me. The “fight” would usually last 30 seconds to a minute. The other guy would throw his punches, get his aggression out. I essentially would take it. The “fight” would be over. As I said, bullying is the proper term. I never really cared so much about taking the punches. I just wanted the conflict to be over.

One time I fought back. Essentially, a kid kept picking on me day after day. He threw rocks at me. He pushed me and I just took it. I didn’t fight back. Finally, after a few days, I had a Popeye moment in which I said, “That’s all I can stands I can’t stands no more.” I went home and told my parents at dinner that I would probably be in a fight the next day because this kid kept picking on me. My dad to his credit gave me permission to defend myself. The next day the kid came up and punched me in the face and then I unleashed about 15 to 20 punches on him. He never bothered again.

At the end of the day, all evil is essentially bullying. Bullies look tough and talk tough, but once you stand up to them, they will eventually wilt. The devil and all the demons cause havoc when no one stands up to them. Edmund Burke said, “All evil needs to do to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Leadership often requires us to simply stand up to bullies.

The devil is a bully. John Eldredge notes that he especially tries to bully the wounded areas of our hearts. Isaiah 14:16-17 says that one day we will look on the devil and say, “Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let the prisoners go home?” Until then, if you and I wish to lead, we must recognize that we must stand up to the bullying of the devil. We must stand up to the bullying of evil wherever we recognize it. If we don’t stand up to bullies, we give them permission to beat us up and to beat others up as well.

Do you have any experience of bullying? Do you believe in the Devil? Do you agree he is just a big bully?