SCRIPTURE: Psalm 56:2 (TM) – larger reading Psalm 56
Not a day goes
by but somebody beats me up; They make it their duty to beat me up.
STORY:
In
his book Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes: There used to be this bully who
would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to
him. Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons. But then
the karate lesson guy said I had to start paying him five dollars a lesson. So
I just went back to paying the bully.
Too many people feel it is easier just
to pay the bully than it is to learn how to defeat him.
OBSERVATION:
His name was Dick Locke. He
was my bully. He would simply yell across the playground, “Hey, Martin, it’s
your turn. Come get beat up!” He was stronger, faster, and meaner than I could
ever be. It was a miserable couple of years.
I understand now that he was
simply angry. I was simply his release valve. Easier to just kick the skinny
kid (6 feet and 110 lbs) than to deal with whatever the real problem was. It was
his “duty” to beat me up. Oh, by the way, it didn’t help that I would mouth off
at him. Not a wise thing on my part… but, I too was angry at the world… or at
least those who made up the “controlling” part of my world.
I finally found peace and
tranquility in and through the church. The church became my real family. It was
the church who loved me regardless of who I was. It became my home... my
family. And through the church, Allapattah Methodist in Miami, I found purpose
for my life.
I’ve often wondered about
Dick Locke. Whatever became of him? I’ve done the Google thing and came up with
nothing, but it doesn’t stop me from wondering… and praying… and hoping that
there was a “Allapattah” in Dick’s life.
When you are being beaten up
all you want is for it to stop. Just make the pain go away. Learning to defeat
the bullies takes a lot of patience and tremendous amount of love. Boy, I can’t
do that! But that is just the point, God never asks us to do something that we
can do.
And so we pray for him to
make them stop and if we listen, really listen, he’ll tell us how. God’s
message to me was: Stop fighting back. Stop running. The message was delivered
one summer at Leesburg Youth Camp via God’s messenger Dr. D. D. Holt.
And so, one summer evening at
the Manor Park pool I stopped. Dick met me at the bottom of the steps. He came
to beat me up. I just couldn’t fight any longer. He hit me hard. I went down. He
was on top of me hitting me over and over and over again. I just lay there
looking up at him. “Aren’t you going to fight?” he asked. “No, Dick, I’m not.
I’m tried of fighting you.” In frustration and a little anger he got off of me
and walked away. It was the last time Dick sought me out to beat me up.
Our paths would cross again during
high school, but there were no more beatings, no more running, no more
bullying. Maybe my prayers to God to make it stop finally kicked in. All I knew
was that I wasn’t being kicked any longer.
I really do wonder whatever
happened to Dick Locke. Did he find happiness and fulfillment in his life or
did he end up behind bars.
PRAYER:
God, come rescue all those
who are being beaten up. Give them the courage to love their bully in spite of
the kicking. Bring peace where there is hatred … and show us what can and must
do to bring an end to bullying in our world!
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