HOW TO FIGHT THE BULLY OF ALL BULLIES
God's unusual way...
John 10:10 “The thief comes not but for to kill, to steal and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” (from words of Christ)
Ephsians 6: 11-17 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickeness in high places...” (this is verse 12 of this section of Ephesians 6)
Up the street from my childhood home lived a bully. As I was almost always smaller than other kids, especially boys, I kept my distance from many children. For some reason unknown to me, when I would walk by this child’s house, this sturdy and much bigger boy would rush out the door and head straight for me, shoving and punching my arms. I would run away. I guess at some point, his dad put a stop to this bad behavior. I never did understand his aggression toward me or whether he targeted other kids or just me.
The only other time I was on the receiving end of bully behavior was in 9th grade, at the hands of one of the social butterflies/ cheerleaders of the school. I was still grieving the sudden death of my mom from several months earlier. Obviously my grief hung heavy over my soul and perhaps that set off the bully girl, who would taunt me and throw things at me, as I did not fight back much.
I do wonder at the origin of bullies...from where does it spring?
We do have the original bully of all bullies, see below...
Bullies are not always dealt with by a frontal assault...they are at least sometimes disarmed by compassion and merciful behavior, not by responding with belligerence, as that fuels things further (see HUMAN HISTORY, chapter one billion...)
Temperaments, kids, temperaments!
Oh, how I used to LOVE to argue...especially in my Senior year of high school. This was in the height of the Vietnam War, sorrow and rage atop the messy, bloody pile, one of my brothers dead in that war, no satisfaction...I yelled. A lot. Quite a lot. I did not bully, I yelled.
How much good did it do? Not a whit, only to give a place to vent.
I understand the need to vent, it can be a mental health practice...but arguing over and over and over leads to fruitless “cantankerous-ness.” I have tried that for many years and it does not work very well.
I sometimes wonder if people who take “refuge” in bullying behavior are somehow compensating for their own sorrow, under a bash of words and actions?? Were they mistreated and bullied in childhood themselves or are they just wired that way? Having no experience in being a bully, I have a theory about why people bully. Before I discuss the bully of all bullies (the fallen angel ), I will say I think bullies are sorrowful and angry people who feel defensively cynical and use bully tactics as a good way to shove people away. It usually is an effective tactic for not getting the help and support the person wants...and they remain alone and sad. As I said, if the bully themselves was also bullied, here we have the endless point-counterpoint. I also think the bully and the cynic can be closely related.
Understanding the dilemma we are in, in 2025, this is as stark as it gets. We have fallen deeply and wandered into dark, dark places, thinking we are untouchable.
We are not.
War is a bully
Money is a bully
Power is a bully
Work can be a bully
Sex can be a bully
The Bully of all Bullies, that fallen angel Lucifer, AKA Satan, thinks he owns the joint...and we have given him way too much a space to influence. Our inaction and wasted time is paying awful dividends.
We can, however, as individuals, STOP and turn away, examine our own behavior and repent and ask God to help us once again. God is truly the miracle worker, both for small and large workings. That is the effective use of the verses from Ephesians chapter 6, mentioned at the start of this essay!
I am doing that in the slow but sure lane, in the only way my sprinter and short hop temperament can do.
God’s way is better.
Each of us have our core temperament. Some are a blast of hot air with substance woven in.
Some are an icy glacier, brilliant in intellect but so cerebral, none can approach or bring their mess within a million miles (otherwise known as loneliness.)
Some are meandering, some are shouting, some are humble and self-effacing, some are bravado braggarts. Some are quiet as the proverbial you-know- what.
I am somewhere in this mess.
The bully of all bullies is, as my Pastor says, an equal opportunity offender. He steps on EVERYONE
How to battle this unpleasant character who so loved himself that he was kicked out of Heaven??? By Archangel Michael???
Whew, what a dimwit Lucifer was!
How much he gave up...
Ephesians chapter 6 has clues on how we as children of God and followers of Jesus Christ are to deal with the devil. We are advised to put on the “full armor of God.” That includes six items, five of which are defensive weapons and only one that is an offensive weapon. We have a girding of the loins of truth. We have the breastplate of righteousness. We have the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We have the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the enemy. We have the helmet of salvation...and finally, we have the one offensive weapon, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, the Bible.
All of these are not physical weapons but rather, spiritual ones. They are every bit as potent as physical weapons, as the spiritual realm and war is just as formidable as the physical realm and war. They are simply applied differently, more intently. Prayer is the number one way to begin and it has to be repeated...over and over and over, to lay a foundation and to keep that foundation from fracturing in the stresses of life. The stresses do build up as you get older and can also gang up on you if you leave them un-dealt with. (Talk to me about this… deep sigh…)
I continue to think that bullies are good at hiding their sadness under a flood of bravado, which effectively keeps people away. The push-back works and people avoid them. This kind of defeats the purpose of healing one’s wounds...but humans are complex and contradictory creatureas and seldom make sense. It creates the vicious cycle of failure to connect and have fellowship. People avoid you and this deepens the isolation.
The devil makes no sense whatsoever. All he does is steal, kill and destroy. He is the “accuser of the brethren” of the Christian faith.
Bullies can be provacateurs, aiming arrows out, piecemeal. Christ dealt with bullies by knowing deeply what made them act in a certain way. He understood the inner workings and offered compassion so overwhelmingly, that some were disarmed of anger. Underneath the anger is a person who has suffered and is in need of God’s mercy.
I wear the full armor of God, all day, every day.
I will wear it until I walk through the gates of Heaven when Papa God calls me Home.
Wendy Elizabeth Williams, Friday. September 26, 2025
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Well, you really did it this time, Wendy Elizabeth! Bravo!
This is difficult for me Sister Wendy. I've never been a bully,yet I realized that I was being one,in word terms to one particular person and it shocked me when I realized it. Someone on the edge in mind terms who didn't need sarcastic and cynical comments of which I seem to be quite fond. But don't like when turned on me! So I think we all have bully potential in us. But in the classic playground bully terms,well I was the solitary weird kid reading my book at break,totally ensconced in it,and maybe a little group of the other kids would come by me,pointing their fingers and hissing," we can't play with you,you're not like us,you're different". At that time I didn't care but later in the world of jobs it's more difficult when the others don't want to "play with you" by which I mean recognise your part in the interconnected web of actions that complete the task,whatever it is,involved in a job. Before there was such things as working from home,digital nomads + such,but then even those are not really living and working in isolation! And I've never wanted to,or aspired to be "different" I wanted to be "the same" as everyone else. Very unimaginative and boring. We all want the opposite thing to what we've got. I resent every time I hear some psychologist say " the bully is that fat ugly kid with no friends" and I SHOUT AT THE RADIO (Lol) " No the bully is that group of mean girls who are 14 going on 36 with fully developed figures,angelic faces and absolutely exude sex appeal those are the most vicious effective bullies" And I think many know that. Actually in my school they didn't bully me,gotta be fair,they ignored me. But of course BULLYING from our political elites as a way of not governing the conditions under which we live FOR US but ruling OVER US to oppress and rob us well,here in the UK our alleged Prime Minister has pulled the mask off and TOLD US we are all going to have to accept The Mark of The Beast or what? It's significant that a media lady who even I liked back in the 1980s before COVID revealed WHO SHE REALLY WAS well this Dame Ratsbreath,for that is she,has successly got State Execution onto our British law,bits its not for crime,it's for the CRIME of being old and poor. So maybe if we refuse to sign up to The Mark we will be sent into the arms of Esther,all ready with the chalice of malice. Sorry to ramble a bit.