The first spiritual bully was thrown from heaven along with 1/4 of the angels because they were bullies. They wanted what they didn't deserve and didn't have. Bullying has become a hot topic in the last few years but as you can see is a practice from the beginning of time. No, God did not create bullies. He doesn't today either. Bullies are selfish and self centered thinking of no one other than themselves. They even bully other bullies in order to have dominance. Very seldom does anyone ever do something about bullies. Within the news recently we have seen several student suicides (one was 12) because of bullying. Spiritual bullying is more common that we care to examine or admit. Why? Because it makes us take a look at ourselves. We, by nature, don't want to take a look at ourselves. We are fully aware of "those people's sin" and can quote chapter and verse where they have gone wrong. But to look at ourselves through that same lens is contrary to who we are. So, the Word tells us that the Devil roams the earth (his domain) seeking whom he can devour. In our spiritual bullying we aid him in his conquest of those we bully.
It's no surprise to read in the Word that Satan is the father of lies. He lies from the beginning when trying to bring down Eve and then Adam. He succeeded. Temptation has been a thorn in mankind's flesh ever since. Temptation is all around us. It doesn't matter what the temptation as there are plenty to go around. I have my temptations and you have yours. No one is immune to the wiles of Satan. When we go down, like Eve, we want to take someone with us. So, the obvious choice is someone close to us. Misery loves company as the saying goes. The beginnings of bullying are found here; at this moment. We cajole, coerce, convince, and command others to be with us in our sin. When the have complied they are like us, fallen. Once one person has fallen we move onto someone else. This continues until by one means or another we are stopped. If it's not the spirit of God stopping us, perhaps it's our death. Temptation, when surrendered to, becomes a reason to be defensive. Being defensive is one trait Jesus never engaged in while on here on earth or in heaven. We, on the other hand, have been a defensive people since our fall.
Defensiveness is not something that God designed into the humans in his likeness. The one who is in Christ should never be found defensive. Okay, maybe sometimes but that should be dealt with in prayer and confession before moving forward. The effects of defensiveness can be seen in our myriad of religious denominations. I didn't say Christian because many of them are not. What has happened over time since the early church? There have been so many church splits and church start ups over various issues that we are overwhelmed at the volume of issues. One church in Minnesota split because they argued over what color to paint the downstairs bathroom! Satan had a hay day in that church! Being unwilling to drop our defensiveness makes us rigid and unwilling to consider another's point of view. Hmmm...that sounds a lot like bullying. Demanding your own way is bullying. Demanding that others bend to your way of thinking, living or believing is bullying. Bullying is sinning.
When we are aware of our fallen nature, we tend to beat ourselves up and put ourselves down. We in essence bully ourselves. What does this accomplish? This behavior takes our eyes off Jesus who has no condemnation for the believer and submits to the condemning wants of the great deceiver, Satan. This self degradation is continued and prorogated from generation to generation. Constant messages from family, friends and the world tell us what a fallen person we are. Forgiveness seems so empty so despair sets in. Once despair has worked it's work, our Christian witness is ineffective and empty. Satan has a plan to take you and I down. It's our choice whether we go along with the plan or not. We have the choice day in and day out. Moment by moment we need to surrender all areas of our lives to Jesus who is the author and FINISHER of our faith. It is He who will complete the good work in us if we would only get out of the way and let him. The bully in us wants to keep us captive while the grace of Jesus wants to set us free. It's always my choice.
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