The Heart of a Lion: Bullying and Compassion

We are in a culture of bullying hypocrisy. On the surface, we claim to stand against bullying in all forms, but underneath that picture-perfect photoshopped makeup of a sham, bullying is really part of our every day culture. Everyone partakes in some form of bullying. At some point, everyone has also experienced being the victim. The alpha-male complex is so ingrained in our Pavlovian minds from society's enabling nurture that we bully delusionally, without realizing we bully. 

The following are true stories gathered from things I've observed in this life...

You see one kid scream, "You're so fat and ugly...." We identify that as bullying; however, "Haha, you're mama is so fat, if she sat on an iphone, it would turn into an ipad." You laugh. He's just having a little fun. Then we go online and see an adult friend post a picture of a 14 year old girl who probably weighs 170 pounds sitting in a sexy pose (probably for a stupid boy), and all the comments are things like...

• Be careful. She'll sit on you.
• Kill it. Kill it with fire.
• She probably ate her last boyfriend.
• See, this is the problem with America, too many fat people.
• She's not fat. She's just pregnant with an elephant's baby.
• Eww gross. Eye bleach!

And in that specific example, I dared disturb their universe. I commented, "Grow up. Ridiculous, adults bullying a 14 year old girl on the internet," and they all accused me of being without a sense of humor. It's ok to make fun of someone behind their back apparently.

That does not say, "Make someone sad or depressed," or "steal from people" or "break the law." No. All you have to do to be a bully is abuse your power. 

Examples of publicly accepted bullying by its real definition:

• Rude comments on articles
• Calling people names in a debate
• Insulting Internet Memes
• Road Rage
• Spanking or shaming children into acceptable behavior
• Public Schools Truancy Policy and Disciplinary Methods
• Bogus CPS calls on conflicting opinions
• Republican Politicians shutting down the government
• Telemarketers and Bill Collectors harassment
• Tenants complaining and Landlords evicting over things like, "noise" like television sets.
• Police following you just to see if you break the law; police questioning

I don't think society knows how to function without bullying. Part of it is nature. The alpha male wolf pack. Part of it is nurture. It's all we know. However, you have the power to change that in your life.

There is one man who dared show us how to function without force. He coerced with love. He intimidated with truth. He dominated with understanding. Jesus Christ. 

Whether you believe in Him or not, He knew how to function without bullying. He inspired peace-driven change in many, from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King. Jesus has the heart of a lion, and it's within His heart can you find peace during the storms people bring. Within His heart is the power to change.

The Heart of the Lion Ask Questions

Jesus always asked many questions. Socratic Questioning is a great method to help people discover the truth since nobody believes it when you flat out tell them the truth. But He didn't just ask questions in order to help you find the point He wanted to make. He also asked questions because He sought to fully understand the situation. Instead of jumping to accusatory assumptions, Jesus sought the truth. He wanted to UNDERSTAND a person's heart. Many times, within Jesus finding that understanding, everyone answering His questions also found understanding in themselves, and many times, that's all we need to change a bad situation into something better.

Instead of judging people, focus on trying to understand their motivations, their intentions, and their true wants. Many times people inflict pain because they are in pain. Many times people want to make you feel insecure because they are insecure. Misery loves company, and you can learn a lot about a person's misery by observing the misery they cause.

The Heart of the Lion Turns the Other Cheek

Real strength is not the force that punches, but the force that can withstand a blow. The only weapon against hate is love, and Jesus knows that not only can Love withstand a blow better than hate, but Love is the only thing that will turn that hatred into love. If someone takes your lunch money, we think the best response is to beat the person up so they will never do it again, but it's in the pain of getting beat up do they wither into someone who wants to take more than lunch money just as the pain they imposed on taking that lunch money fuels the desire and energy to beat them up. But let's say someone wants to take your lunch money, and you respond, "Here. I will have more tomorrow. I'm not giving you this because I'm afraid of you. I'm giving you this because I care about you." Well, you might of just made a new friend and bodyguard.

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' but I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." 

The Heart of the Lion Wield Weapons of Change

The Bible speaks of the armor of God. I know it's hard for nonbelievers to understand this, so find what you can in this message.

Jesus frequently used the truth as a weapon. When cornered with lies, the only weapon that will free you is the truth, which also happens to be the most painful weapon when smacked upside the face with it. But Jesus was armed with more than just Truth. If truth is a bullet, the gun is Love. Truth without love is just a piece of metal. In order to get that metal to pierce through the walls people surround themselves, it needs to be ignited and sustained by Love.

Righteousness is a good breastplate to protect you from judgment, from God or People. Noah Webster believed that the righteous shall see God, and it's true. The more you do the right thing, the more you open that third eye to see God spiritually, and He is omnipresent. It's easier to love any enemy when you see God in that enemy, a light lurking underneath the shadows. Everyone has a little light, but it needs love to really shine.

Faith and salvation will protect you from hell and its fury, but every human needs love. We all seek it. Many of us cannot find love the way we truly need it, and it's through faith in God and salvation do we find a glimpse of the love that awaits us. It is with faith and salvation do we find hope in that love. Without it, we just aren't spiritually healthy to really take on any evil, from hell or from earth. See what happens in the spirit world is a certain level of peer pressure, and it's really hard to resist peer pressure from evil if you don't have any peer pressure of good. If you can't believe in Christ, you can still believe in Christ's Message. You can have faith in Love and Peace.

Jesus frequently refers to the tongue as a double edged sword, so it's no wonder the Word of God is referred to as the sword of the spirit at some point. A lot of people take that to mean to memorize the Bible and misquote it when it seems convenient, but the power really is in the message. Jesus spoke of Love, and words of Love will pierce through any armor and enter straight into the heart. Choose your words with people wisely because it is a sword, and all your words pierce through the spirit.

Prayer is also important. Many nonbelievers will say there is power in meditation. It keeps you healthy and centered, and that's true, but if you focus your meditation on God, the power is ridiculously supercharged. The only being who could overcome darkness without light is God when He invented light. Now that light exists, we need it to overcome the darkness, and God is that light. Do not just pray for others and yourself, but listen to God. He speaks back in abstracts otherwise known as epiphany, feelings, comfort and peace. Your spirit knows what He's saying, even if your mind does not, and your spirit has a better source of information to help guide you through your life.

Ephesians says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." 

There are so many things Jesus was, and many more things Jesus was not. Being human often interferes with our ability to be like Him, but it's in the trying do we make the kind of impressions that cause positive change. I know it's hard to believe Jesus was the best at dealing with bullies considering his bullies nailed Him to a cross to His death, and honestly, His existence teaching obvious things against hatred hasn't eliminated the persecution that plagues mankind, but the point is, He approached many people in many circumstances in His ministry and inspired them all to do better. To be nicer. To love each other. Had he gone through life selfishly, He could have avoided the cross and in His place would have been those He ignored. At some point, you just decide who are you going to be? A persecutor nailing someone who really just didn't know any better to a cross? Or the savior who comes in and inspires that person to live a life that keeps them off that cross.

You don't have to teach them to know better, but you can give them a reason to do better. 

Don't get me wrong, when dealing with bullies, I have an innate desire to dominate the situation, to bully the bullies into being decent people, but I can tell you from experience, it doesn't solve the underlying issues.

When I was in the military, there was a girl in my squadron who was supposed to be my guide when I first got to the base. Before I got there, she already had a pet name for me and made fun of me with a lot of people giving me a wonderful reputation to start with. She was Little Miss Tough Girl, always talking ghetto slang like she is the person you don't want to mess with, and she really thrived on messing with people like locking them out of the bathroom for fun (or stealing their towel), or starting drama between people spreading lies... I knew she was fake. I come from a place where I am the person you don't mess with, and I recognize my own kind, and she wasn't it. In the name of helping the many victims to this girl's bullying, I dominated that situation. She was scared of me. I threatened to wrap her hair around my fist and slam her face into the computer, so she cut all of her hair off the next day. Her bullying behavior stopped for the most part, but the reasons she bullied didn't go away so fast. She really reclused into her personal world avoiding most people for quite some time. I must of made her the same outcast she was before putting on her front. Finally, I started to tell her what was good about her. See I knew the tough girl was a front, but I believed the girl she was hiding from the world was an amazing person that she was too scared to show. I started to approach her with love instead of hate, mainly from the guilt of breaking a person so much. I learned she was actually an amazing cook, but as we developed a friendship, I learned underneath that tough girl fake exterior was a real tough girl aching to come out and dominate things like sky diving, mountain climbing, finishing college... She is actually one of my smartest friends I have on Facebook, and I'm not sure we could argue again about anything. She is popular again with her friends, but for the first time in her life, she is popular because people LOVE her, not because they fear her. She finally showed us all the real her. And the real her is the girl you don't want to mess with. 

That is the story of not one bully, but of two bullies. Both of us had to change our approach at some point to grow from the experience. When I stopped bullying her, I became a better person.

In many ways, our culture is on the brink of growing up a bit. We are trying to be more peace-seeking, more sharing, more earth-friendly, and create a safer place, but we haven't stopped abusing our power to make these things happen. We still bully each other around to satisfy our personal agendas, often in the name of helping others or what's best for society, but what's really best for everyone is to manage our bullying.

Some situations do call for an alpha male to dominate and lead others to victory, but most situations really need that heart of the lion to look beyond the surface deep into the soul of the situation and lead us to a place where we don't need victory. 

Check out this guy's Deviant Art

Check out God Wants You To Know App on Facebook. It gives random messages of positivity, and provides a place to make prayer requests and pray for others. If the link doesn't work (I can't tell because I'm logged in), search it. They aren't paying me to say this. I just like the app.

Read more posts about compassion and bullying for this month's #1000Speaks 

How to be God: A tutorial on omnipotence and compassion

#1000 Speaks. A Movement for compassion.

Doctors suffering from the God-Complex enjoy being in charge of one’s pain and one’s comfort from pain, some morbidly forcing you to endure pain just for ego. We all want to be God: the dust to create, the lust to destroy. Even atheists find themselves thirsting for the knowledge a god would possess through science. We want freedom of choice. We seek power. It’s almost as if we have an intrinsic urge to be as close to God as possible, emulating every aspect of His Power for recognition, ego and worth.

We do it all wrong.

We seek power. We strive for perfection. We expect order. 

BUT if we truly want to know what it is to be God, we would emulate the closest thing we know of God, Jesus.

We would seek Love. We would strive for patience. We would expect peace.

We would move with compassion.

We would move with compassion.

That is what it truly means to be God. That is His true power. Compassion is the driving force behind His Works.

Instead of causing someone’s pain, a real God releases them from the burden. Instead of bringing someone down, real power would lift them up. Anyone can write a story designed to depress and sadden, or anger and outrage, but a true artist will use their words to heal and inspire, to enrich and empower.

Compassion requires Love. If you do not love, you will not find compassion. A homeless man stands on a street corner with a cardboard cutout asking for spare change for his next meal. A compassionate man will give him some money; however, in order to defeat all logic that this homeless man deserves his homelessness for bad decisions, whether they be in the past or present, one must love the man enough to give him money despite his bad decisions.

It is in love do we find real empathy. We can’t understand someone’s pain without caring for them in the first place. The love is what fuels us to dig deeper to understand the salt in someone’s tear. The love is what motivates us into finding what pain causes those bad decisions that would deem someone homeless or in another desolate state whether it be of addiction or criminality. A woman making excuses behind why she can’t make it to rehab is probably not making excuses, and probability dictates you might not do any better if in her shoes.

Without empathy AND Love, we cannot truly find sympathy for someone else because it is in understanding their pain can we find the sincere pity to sympathize. It’s the sympathy that drives us to act. Without it, we let someone else handle it. A 5 year old girl receives a stuffed animal from a charity the night her house burned down. Who would ever think to create a charity like that?

It is through intervention do miracles happen. A grieving widow finds comfort in the hallmarks on the cards she will save her entire life, and read on those lonely nights missing him that you can’t be there for in person. It is under the stacks of cards does she realize she is not alone. A miracle is making someone realize they are not alone when nobody can be there.

All evil you see is a symptom of a deeper condition. It is the symptom of a broken soul. Only love can mend spiritual wounds. And it is the truest power of God to heal the soul.

If you can find love for a homeless stranger in desperate need of a shower and a meal, then you will know what it means to be God.

If you can find love for a prisoner guilty of his crime and show him mercy, then you will know what it means to be God.

If you can mend one stitch in someone’s soul with a bite-sized piece of compassion, then you will truly know what it means to be God.

The more you do this, the more you will see God and all His glory. Whether you believe God exists or not, you can still believe in the power of love. You can still have faith that had God exist, the benevolence you wish for Him, the benevolence you wish for yourself, is powerful enough to heal the broken. That good is powerful enough to conquer evil. That everything Jesus Christ stood for is something worth fighting for, and something worth emulating.

Solidarity. With 1000 voices speaking up for compassion, maybe 1000 is a force enough to be God-like in omnipresence. If you don’t believe God exists, you can make Him exist by joining the movement. If you do believe God exists, you can make yourself His instrument by joining the movement.

So I ask all my readers, next time you see a homeless person begging for spare change, show him the same love and compassion you expect of God. Not the love you think God has for him, but the love you think God SHOULD have for him. Next time someone comes at you with a sob story, seek to understand them the way you think Jesus should have. Listen to people the way you think God should be listening to their prayers. Dare to love others with fierce determination like its a weapon against everything you hate. Whether you believe in Him or not, you will know what it means to be God, and you will see Miracles.

Miracles like civil rights when the world enslaved people of dark skin. Miracles like Jewish people walking out of concentration camps to a Promised Land of freedom. Miracles you might not ever know about, like saving a life because your kindness kept someone from committing suicide.

We come into this world as a miracle. We come into this world with blind unconditional love for the people around us. This is what it means to be God. This is what it is meant to be to be made in His Image. Be that miracle for someone.

Movement for compassion.

Move with Compassion.

#1000Speaks

This post was originally posted on my heathen blog Crumpets and Bollocks.  

If Angels know Everything, Why Would the Fallen Fall?

I've met atheists with a compelling unanswerable question of God and Christianity with pride as if they debunked the entire religion with that one question. Remember, they don't believe there is no God. They spend time trying to convince themselves, usually in the form of convincing you, that there is no God. Meanwhile, I'm one of those few Christians who has questions like that myself, not because I want to debunk religion, but because I want to seek the Truth. I want to understand God. I want to empathize with Him. Not because I want to be Him, but I want to be His servant to the best of my ability.

The world is full of these questions, many I thought I invented had someone not stolen my idea before I came up with it... I'm starting an FAQ on my blog. Go to the labels and click FAQ to get other posts like this.

Catholics say angels know everything, and the fallen knew what they were doing which is why they will never repent or receive forgiveness. Well, if they knew everything, why would they fall?

They don't know everything. If they knew everything, they wouldn't have fallen. They would either be serving God, or they'd be God.

I'm not sure they knew they were going to fall from grace if they kept up with their antics or not when they made the decision they made. I think many were surprised God would actually banish them from heaven. I envision it to be one of those moments where a parent is saying, "If you don't stop fighting, I'm going to put you in a time out," and the kid just didn't really believe it until they were sitting in that time out, and then that entire time out is spent hating the parent for doing that to them, feeling unloved because a loving parent would never make them sit in a time out in their minds.

Maybe hell is a time out. Maybe there will a time for reconciliation as opposed to retribution. Many say reconciliation is impossible, but I believe with God, all things are possible. In fact, we can understand God via Quantum Mechanics, and according to Schrodinger's Cat (a thought experiment), not only are all things possible, but all possibilities are true.

But let's go to the next question this one brings. Lucifer knows enough of God's Ways to know God's pretty good at getting His Way. Lucifer knows enough, especially with the story of Revelations that Lucifer probably understands better than most of us humans, that he's going to lose. Why would he go into a losing battle swearing he's going to win?

Feelings. Angels have them too. I mean, if God kicked you out of heaven forever, wouldn't you be pissed off? You'd probably form an army to fight back too. You wouldn't care if you were going to win or lose. It's not about winning. It's about revenge.

This is the kind of darkness that has consumed the fallen. They didn't just get rejected. They landed in a dark place full of dark monsters. If your mother kicked you out of your house and dropped you with a nice family to adopt you, you'd still resent your mother. You'd still have questions. But for the most part, you'd be fine. Imagine if she left you with the Boogeyman, in his dark cave under your bed where no light will ever enter. Nobody will ever love you again. Yeah, the fallen are hurt.

The hurt feeds their darkness. Every demon has his own demons within him. Nobody, but God, can conquer the darkness alone.

And that darkness is deceiving. "We are never deceived. We deceive ourselves." Goethe.

The darkness fuels the fallen to keep trying. It fuels them into hurting people, tricking people, and eventually trying to wipe out the existence of people. They can't touch God, but they can touch His Children. You are the easiest target.

It also fuels them into believing they don't deserve forgiveness, but they deserve to be God and deserve worship. It fuels them into believing they can win. It fuels them into believing they have secrets from God to help them win. They believe a lot of their own absurdities, no different than a demon making you believe in your own absurdities.

They honestly believe they are right. They are following their hearts, dark, broken hearts. They are passionate about their cause, and the passion itself is a beautiful thing on their part; unfortunately, there's just no light in that passion.

But I am firm believer that humans were not intended to know good and evil. We were just intended to innocently sin without knowing it's wrong. Meanwhile, the angels were intended for good. They were all intended for good. We can only have faith that their intended purpose is still there, buried under all that darkness, and some day, when they heal from the fall, they will return to their original instincts to love again.

Why does God not Forgive Lucifer?

Got a question about things that don't make sense with Christianity?

I've met atheists with a compelling unanswerable question of God and Christianity with pride as if they debunked the entire religion with that one question. Remember, they don't believe there is no God. They spend time trying to convince themselves, usually in the form of convincing you, that there is no God. Meanwhile, I'm one of those few Christians who has questions like that myself, not because I want to debunk religion, but because I want to seek the Truth. I want to understand God. I want to empathize with Him. Not because I want to be Him, but I want to be His servant to the best of my ability.

The world is full of these questions, many I thought I invented had someone not stolen my idea before I came up with it... I'm starting an FAQ on my blog. Go to the labels and click FAQ to get other posts like this.

So if God is supposedly "all forgiving" then why did he not forgive Lucifer and banish him from heaven?

Lady Alicia answers with, "He forgives those who actually repent and ask for forgiveness. Like most people today, Lucifer's ego was too big to admit he was wrong."

My answer:

He did forgive Lucifer. The banishment from His Kingdom was to protect life. It wasn't an act of anger or anything dark. It was an act of love for all life, including future life. Lucifer wasn't a big fan of creating humans (so it seems), and you see how much chaos he has caused humans on earth. There wouldn't be a heaven if he were permitted to do those things in heaven.

One thing to understand is angels really aren't that different from humans, though those in hell have a superiority complex, which just proves my point further. Lucifer, of all the angels, understood the ways of God the best, except he didn't quite understand God's Humbleness. 

Imagine a CEO getting a good secretary, so good she could do most of his job for him without anyone knowing while he's on vacation. At some point, that secretary is going to do enough of his job, she is going to expect his pay and title. She deserves it after all. It's unfair to keep someone who is doing all the work of a CEO as the "secretary." Lucifer is that secretary. He wants to be God. He wants the title and the pay (worship). 

Imagine you are the CEO in that scenario. You know your secretary is one awesome secretary, but the secretary doesn't know all your tricks. Yeah, that's great she did 3/4 of your job while you were on vacation, but she didn't come up with any ideas that contributed toward the profit margin like you did. She's almost there, but not quite there, and now she's trying to talk the Board of Directors into firing you to hire her. 

Now you know if she becomes CEO, the company will probably go under. Her ideas are bad ideas. Bad for the company. They go against the mission statement, and most importantly, she wants to cut all the successful programs you started. 

But you are still her boss at this point. I think anyone in their right mind would fire her and save their position as CEO taking THEIR COMPANY where they want it to go. And that's for something as meaningless as a company. Imagine if your company was the most important company on the planet. Imagine if you were a monopoly of the world's water supply, and your mission was to make sure EVERYONE got the water they needed. And the secretary wanted to only supply water for those she thought were "fit" for the future. In that case, firing her not only saves your job, but it also saves the world. 

In the case of God and Lucifer, I believe God still sees Lucifer as a son. He's a child, one who rebelled against his father. God's love is unchanging. It's infinite. To say He doesn't love the fallen would imply He never did, and we know that's not true. He still loves his fallen deeply, in ways most of you would never understand. But as long as Lucifer sees God as the enemy, God cannot risk the danger on His other children. Maybe there will be a day when Lucifer comes home with a heart yearning for his Parent's love sincerely seeking forgiveness, but every religious expert swears that will never happen. 

The world we live in on earth is more the dream. The dreams you have are more like real life. Your real life is after this life. God is protecting your assets in that life, if you entrust Him with it. If you don't, nobody is protecting them. 

Remember, better to be a secretary for the greatest company ever than to be CEO of one that fails miserably.

I am firm believer that humans were not intended to know good and evil. We were just intended to innocently sin without knowing it's wrong. Meanwhile, the angels were intended for good. They were all intended for good. We can only have faith that their intended purpose is still there, buried under all that darkness, and some day, when they heal from the fall, they will return to their original instincts to love again.

The question isn't why hasn't God forgiven the fallen. The question is why hasn't the fallen forgiven God? Ask them, and they think they are gods who deserve worship. Well, part of being a god is forgiving, so why can't they forgive God?