Bullying

A popular seasonal song at this time of the year is Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. It tells of the plight of Rudolph. He is different from all of the other reindeer because he was born with a red luminescent nose. Just as humans do, the reindeer naturally single him out due to what they see as a defect in Rudolph. I've heard this song from childhood and now as I approach my 70th birthday, I never thought of the other reindeer's actions as bullying. Yet, that is exactly what it is. We know bullying to be the act of someone who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people. While this story is fictitious, all too often, the smaller, weaker person or the one who is just different, is the object of serious bullying. This sometimes leads to fatal consequences. Fortunately that is not the ending for everyone.

There was a man named Jephthah who was born to a harlot. His father took a wife and she bore him many sons. However when her sons grew up, they thrust Jephthah out of their home because they did not want him to partake of their father's inheritance. (How many of our youth are bullied for reasons of which they had no control?) There was a war in the land and Jephthah was selected as the warrior leader (Judges Chapter 11). God was with Jephthah and gave him victory twice and Jephthah was eventually made a Judge over all Israel for 6 years.

It is nice that Santa, a fictitious character can teach us a lesson about bullying by selecting Rudolph to lead his sleigh during a foggy Christmas eve. It is even better when we know that God will teach us in real life if we put our faith and trust in Him. Who are you bullying? Does it make you feel important? Who's bullying you? Are you depending on God to fight for you?