The bully in the family

I love teaching my Sunday School class. I enjoy having discussions that challenge the way we look at things in life. Over the next few weeks we are looking at a book called "Mean Girls". It considers those around us that are mean, and in some ways abusive in their behavior. It gives helpful suggestions in how you should deal with the "mean people."

Most of the teens felt like no one in the class was really dealing with mean people in their lives. We did a survey of eight questions and the results showed that some of them are indeed being treated meanly by others at school. The interesting thing is that this discussion is not just aimed at schools but in families too. As we talked we began to understand that one of the easiest places to be mean to one another is in our own homes.

Some of the teens shared how they were that mean person. They have been the one that has done deliberate things to humiliate others at school, but they also have done the same things with their younger siblings at home. We came to the conclusion that what older siblings think as "fun" in pushing around their much younger siblings or making fun of them over and over is indeed mean. We began to see ourselves in a much different light.

I singled out one of our teens, singled her out for something positive. I have seen this young lady and the way she treats her younger sister that is 6 years younger. She loves her, talks to her politely and spends time with her little sister. She is very keen to treat her with respect.

I challenged all of our teens to think about how they are treating the people in their home. Do they treat the people in their home the same way they treat others at school or others in youth. I pray that God will help them where they fall short.