I found myself in an orphanage in the Philippines yesterday (still can’t really believe or grasp where I am) and I encountered a problem. A small boy was screaming over and over with everything that he could muster. At this point, my engineering education kicked in and I began to systematically fix the problem. I studied it for a minute, and noticed a slightly bigger boy would say something right before the smaller boy would yell. Bully. I picked the small boy up and tried to distract him and even take him out of the area, but none of that helped at all. So, my attention turned to the bully. My immediate response was to stand up the bully. He was showing he was bigger than the other boy, so I stood up to subtly show him how small he actually was. Then I tried talking to him, pretending to talk to the staff workers, and even asking him directly why he was being so mean to his friend.
Then I realized how wrong I was about all of this. The problem I saw was one boy was behaving in a way to intentionally hurt another ones feelings. One aggressor and one victim. When I stopped and thought about it and let myself look at it with the compassion of Christ, I saw only victims. These two boys are in an orphanage. Sure, these boys are taken care of, but how many healthy meals does it take to make up for not having a mother to cook those meals for you?
The problem was so much deeper than I first realized, but the solution was beautifully simple. I fixed the bullying issue the way Jesus fixed me, by pouring out love. I stopped looking the older boy as a bully and looked at him like a boy in desperate need of love. For the next two hours, we talked, played basketball, and I gave him piggyback rides. The harsh bully melted into a smiling, happy kid. As I prepare to go back this afternoon, I can’t wait to see this child again. It is such a blessing to see so instantly how love coming from Christ can change a person.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
