How Should You Deal With Bullies?

Have you ever been bullied at school? How did you deal with it? How should Christians respond, and what should they do when they are bullied?  

Have you ever been bullied? To one degree or another, we have probably all been victims of bullying. 

Bullying can happen anywhere, anytime and in many different forms. Bullying can range from teasing to more serious actions that cause you to get upset or even become fearful.

While bullying is a critical issue for many teenagers, it can also happen to different age groups: children, adults and even the elderly.

Is there anything we can do to stop a bully from bullying? 

Ask God to intervene

God is the Creator of the universe. He created all things. He knows and sees everything. Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” 

Because God is aware of everything happening at all times, we should ask for His involvement in the problems we face. He wants to intervene and help us solve our problems, but we must humbly ask and trust that He will. We can be sure that He is very concerned with our well-being (1 Peter 5:6-7). 

God works in unimaginable ways. Nothing is impossible with Him (Matthew 19:26). 

Consider how God supernaturally dried up the waters of the Red Sea and Jordan River so the Israelites could cross. Our God is all-powerful. 

He can also change people’s attitudes from anger to peace. One example of this is the story of Esau and Jacob in the book of Genesis. In chapter 25, we read that Esau sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a stew of lentils (verse 34). Esau treated his inheritance with contempt, and he lost his father’s blessing because of Jacob’s deception (Genesis 27:1-37). 

That deception made Esau furious, and he sought revenge. He wanted to kill his brother Jacob (verse 41). Then Jacob fled to Haran where he served his uncle, Laban, for many years. 

However, when it was time for Jacob to return to the land of his family in Canaan, he knew he would encounter his brother Esau. Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, so he prayed fervently to God for protection. He said, “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him” (Genesis 32:7-11). 

And when Jacob finally met up with Esau, he experienced the opposite of what he had greatly feared: Esau “embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” (Genesis 33:4). 

God intervened and helped Esau change his anger to peace and forgiveness. Proverb 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

A personal story

For a time during middle school, a girl made fun of me. Even worse, she asked our classmates to hate me. It made me feel helpless. I did not know what to do. At first, I was reluctant to tell my parents, but my mother approached me, perceiving that something was wrong. 

We asked God for wisdom on how to deal with this situation. 

Then my parents came to school and discussed the situation with my homeroom teacher, and the bullying stopped. I believe God intervened. Still, I did not expect her to be a “good” friend, so I tried to keep my distance from her. But because Christ tells us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44), I tried hard not to resent her for how she had treated me.  

But as time went by, she actually became one of my good friends. We often made plans to meet at certain places and talk.

God intervened, and He made peace between us!

From this, I learned that God can help us solve every problem—sometimes in ways we’d never imagine. If you are a victim of bullying, reach out for help! Ask God to intervene, then look to your parents and school counselors for ways to help. Once the situation is identified, it can be addressed.

Remember the deeper problem behind bullying

Most of our daily problems are spiritual in nature, and bullying is no exception! When bullies bully someone, they show that they lack empathy. Sometimes they are trying to hurt someone else because they have been hurt by others themselves.  

The 10 Commandments—the spiritual law—is based on love: love toward God and love toward fellow humans (Matthew 22:37-39). But bullying is evil and comes from Satan. 

Bullying is spiritual in nature and requires spiritual solutions. 

Bellinda Simanjuntak is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association in Indonesia.