Dear Diary

I was walking along, minding my own business, when all of a sudden something caught my eye that seemed out of place.  Indeed it was something that was out of place.  It was some sort of binder that had gotten left behind by someone.  Forgetting that I had been minding my own business I began investigating the object.


The outside was covered with doodles and band names and such.  There were little flowers and puppy dogs and the like drawn randomly around.  It seemed pretty obvious that this belonged to a teenage girl.  Upon holding the item, it appeared to be extra heavy to one side.  Feeling around it seemed like a small book size.  I was thinking maybe something like an ipad; something of value.  I probably needed to find if there was some sort of lost and found nearby, or some sort of official place for this to go.  Curiosity got the best of me though and I thought I had better look inside to confirm my suspicions and see if there was any sort of identification that would reconnect this lost item with its owner. 


I unzipped the zipper and opened up the binder thing.  Sitting there staring at me was a little red book with silver edged pages titled with big bold letters....  My Life. 


Ok, so what would you do?  Of course I totally abandon the "minding my own business" and opened up the book and found myself reading the diary of a teenage girl.  For some reason I felt a little giddy about the possible entertainment I might come across.  Stories of puppy love?  Perhaps a little juicy gossip about a cheerleader?  Or how boring the history teacher was?  That is not what I found.


On the first page I opened to, I began reading about a friend of this girl...  how she had been bullied by others in the school...  how she had committed suicide because of the bullying.   I began reading about the pain and confusion of this girl trying to figure out why bullies could be so mean to drive someone to kill themselves.  I read of the loneliness and emptiness this girl felt by her friends absence, and the anger at those who could not leave her friend alone. 


I closed the book.  I could not read any more.  I cursed myself for having let my curiosity get the best of me, and cursed the bullies who could cause so much hurt to others.  I said a silent prayer for the girl who wrote out her feelings there, never expecting that anyone besides herself would ever read those words. 


It hit me hard too because I could relate to this story.  I was once a victim of bullies, and their relentless attacks.  It ruined my middle school years all the way until late my sophomore year.  I hated going to school to have to face it every day.  No one seemed to understand.  No one was there to support me.  Day after day, the jokes, the pranks, the physical abuse....  I did not think it would ever end.  That is where that girl was who committed suicide. 


I wish for her that someone had known.  If there had been someone who would have helped her through, helped her to feel loved, helped her to feel she was not alone.  Did her parents know?  Or did they just seem to pile on top of it?  Did her friends know?  Or did they just seem dismissive?  Did anyone try to share the love of Christ with her?  For me those were all no's as I went through my own private hell.  She could not take it anymore and snapped, ending her life.  I snapped too, but lashed out on the bully.


We need to watch out for others.  We never know what a person is going through.  We will never know if a kind word or gesture in a given moment could be a life saver.  We never know if showing and sharing the love of Jesus might at a moment be preventing another suicide.  If you see bullying say something.  Don't be afraid to step up and defend the person being bullied.  It is never cool to call people names, or belittle them, or abuse them in any way.  It is evil. 


Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 
Love others in the same way Christ loved us, putting them first, and ourselves last.
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, only that which will lift others up.
Don't be selfish.  If someone has a need, meet it if you can.  If they are hungry, feed them.  Thirsty? Give them a drink.  Need clothes?  give and share. 
Love is patient, kind.  It is not jealous.  It does not boast of self, or brag.  It does not act badly, nor is it selfish.  It is not easily provoked.  Love thinks no evil nor has fun in doing wrong, but instead rejoices in truth.  It bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all.  Love never fails.
Those are all scriptures and are bully beaters.  Do good to those who use and abuse you.  Let God take your vengeance, for it is His.  Pray for the bullies.


How is that possible?  You don't know what they have done to me?  Maybe not, but there is one who does.  His name is Jesus.  He was bullied, beaten, abused, mocked, made fun of, and chased away.  And He was God.  He could have at any time called down legions of angels to stop others.  He did not though.  He still loved those who hated him without a cause.  Jesus had done no wrong to anyone, but was hated so much he was put to death.  He did this to save you.  He knows just what you are going through.  Believe on Him and you will be saved.  Trust in Him and He will enable you, through His spirit, to be able to be obedient to loving your enemies and doing good to those who persecute you.  And you have His promise that you will never be alone for He will never leave you nor forsake you.
 

The Bucket List

Every Semester as part of our children’s health class in our school district, the pupils are given an assignment of creating a bucket list for themselves.  For those of you who might not know for some reason, a “bucket list” is a list of things a person would want to do before they died.  It comes from the old phrase “to kick the bucket”, which most people know is kind of a slang term for dying.  The idea was popularized by a movie of that name starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman that came out in 2007. 

In the movie we see two old dying men gallivanting around the world fulfilling their dreams and accomplishing goals.  The Morgan Freeman character then comes to an epiphany about what the two were doing and decides that rather than fulfilling personal alone, he would rather try and spend his final days with family and close friends.  The adventures end and we see the difference between fulfilling the selfish desires portrayed by Nicholson as he spends a lonely holiday by himself as compared with the more selfless Freeman who is seen loving and laughing with family.

When a child of 13, 14, 15 years old is asked to do such an assignment, they usually default to a list of desires and achievements purely to satisfy their own lusts and desires.  They all want to hang with that famous musician or movie star, drive some fancy car, participate in some extreme sport, go to some distant exotic place, and do all this with their best friends.  I rarely see family time involved, but really that, I think, is beside the point.

This kind of a lesson could be a wonderful teaching opportunity for the children, but it really gets passed by.  All that happens is another reinforcement of the “me first” mentality.  The school is not allowed to judge, direct, guide, the students in any way.  It is deemed ‘healthy’ for the students to express their selfish desires without judgment or critique, without any values placed on their choices.  The most important value is that their self-esteem not be hindered in any way and even promoted. 

What is wrong with that?  One may ask.  Our children should be told how special they are and we should never harm a children’s ego or they may be scarred for life with feelings of inferiority or complexes for which they will need to be medicated and seek counseling for.   A child can’t be told that any value they hold is right or wrong.  All viewpoints are to be validated and not judged.  We’ve all heard this secular humanist argument before, and for many years.  It has failed.

Our children have been dumbed down to the lowest common denominators educationally, socially, and morally in the effort to not leave anyone behind, or to not make anyone feel like a failure, to not bruise any ego and to promote a positive attitude towards one’s self.  No one is punished for doing wrong, and everyone is rewarded whether they achieved or not. Everyone is made to feel like they are right (even when they are not).

The opportunity that is missed in the educational process in an assignment like this is truth.  It is a fantastic moment of teachability to our youth about how to properly prioritize our lives.  It is a grand moment where death, and what comes after, can be discussed.  It is a perfect time where different world views can be compared, analyzed, and scrutinized.  Yet, the powers that be in the educational world deny this wonderful learning moment in favor of teaching the kids that the only truth is whatever they feel is truth; that there are no absolutes.

In the Bible, we are given a bucket list to live by.  It starts with love the Lord your God who created you and to serve Him alone, believing upon His son Jesus who God sent to reconcile mankind to the Father.   It ends with loving your neighbor as yourself.     It is filled with great and noble works such as feeding the poor, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned.  It lists as good, things like taking care of widows and orphans; helping strangers in need.  Also on the list the difficult tasks of loving your enemies and doing good to those who are not good to you.  We could learn the great value in forgiving others and turning the other cheek.  Even perhaps the hardest thing of all, and one which shows no greater love, laying down ones life for another. 

We can only barely even imagine what life would be like were those things were on our bucket list.  I can scarcely imagine the great joys and peace that would be felt in a world where everyone is looking out for his fellow man and the best interest of others is the first priority on everyone’s mind.  Nor can I totally imagine a world completely devoid of any of them.  What a dark and horrid place this world will be when the full force of evil is unleashed and the spirit of God is removed.

Number one on the Biblical bucket list is to share this good news.  We are to tell others of how Jesus has made it possible for us to be forgiven of our selfish, lustful, evil ways and being reconciled to Father God through His precious shed blood; how Jesus rose again on the 3^rd day defeating death and clearing the path that through Him we might pass from death unto life.  That through the Holy Spirit that indwells us when we believe, that we will be capable of living out the Bucket list given to us in the God inspired words of the Bible.