A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty is was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bully’s another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home. Pass it on or better yet, if you’re a parent or a teacher, do it with your child/children.
I found some verses on bullying in the Bible and figured, I would share them with the above story.
Some Biblical verses on bullying
Leviticus 19:18 NKJV – Love your Neighbor
You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Romans 12:19-20 NKJV – Vengeance is the Lords
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
Matthew 5:38-42 NKJV – Go the Second Mile
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Matthew 5:43-48 NKJV – Love Your Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Psalm 34:12-18 NKJV – Keep You Tongue from Evil
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV – Be Strong and of Good Courage
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Ephesians 4:29 NKJV – Let No Corrupt Words
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
There are plenty more verses in the Bible. These are just a select few. If there is one I didn’t add and you feel it should have been added, please feel free to leave that verse as a comment or anything else you may wish to share as a comment. Also feel free to share with your favorite social network.
So do not speak bad about others, even if you hear from people. More than likely it is gossip and gossip is false. Make sure what you say are good, kind words toward others. Also if someone does bad to you, do good to them. The old saying, “Kill them with kindness”. We are to show love to everyone, even those who do us wrong. It can be hard, but even if we are being made fun of, being bullied etc, we should still love that person.
Doing good to others when they do you wrong is like offering grace. Remember God gives us grace despite we don’t deserve, we should do the same for others.
Forgiveness is key too!
I gave this lesson to the middles school at church one day. They said their teacher had them do the crumbled paper too. But they didn’t know about the Bible verses, that is because at public school the teachers can’t share those. But at church for Team Kid, Sunday School or small groups with the youth we can.
Remember Christ was made fun of and said we will be persecuted for His sake as well. Several places in the Bible Christ reminds us that he suffered first and we might for him too. So let the kids know they are not alone, even Jesus was made fun, spat on, beat, abused etc.
Check out this other blog post on bullying.
First published January 30, 2013. Republished with revision & additions on August 27, 2015.
My name is Steve Patterson and I am saved through the blood of Jesus Christ. I have been blogging at Courageous Christian Father since 2012, however, I have been blogging since around 2004. I listen to nothing but Christian Music. I work as a graphic designer.