We're back with "A Word from the Vine." I'm Pastor Loren Christensen of Danish Countryside Chapel in Exira, Iowa. Today, as we continue to explore the issue of bullying, let us broaden our gaze to the society in which we live. It is a society that often measures success by material wealth and social status—a society where the principles of capitalism reign.
In this context, we must ask ourselves: Does the competitive nature of our economic system contribute to a culture of bullying? Do we, perhaps subconsciously, absorb the idea that life is a zero-sum game, where for one to win, another must lose?
The Apostle John challenges us to consider our actions in light of God’s love:
1 John 3:17 - “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
This verse speaks to the heart of Christian compassion. It reminds us that the accumulation of goods is not an end in itself. The true measure of our society, and indeed of our hearts, is not found in what we have, but in how we use what we have to help others.
If we view our worldly goods as tools for service rather than weapons for competition, we can begin to dismantle the structures that may inadvertently encourage bullying. We can create a community where the success of one is celebrated by all, where the needs of the weakest are the concern of the strongest.
As Christians, we are called to be countercultural. We are called to live not as the world lives, but as Christ lived—to serve rather than to be served. In a society that often values the individual over the community, we are called to remember that we are all members of one body, and when one member suffers, we all suffer.
Let us, therefore, strive to be a community that reflects God’s love—a love that is generous, inclusive, and kind. A love that does not bully, but that builds up; that does not hoard, but that shares; that does not close its heart, but that opens it wide to the needs of others.
May we be inspired by the Holy Spirit to live out this love in our daily lives, and may our society be transformed by the renewing of our minds and hearts. Amen.
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