Bullying Prevention Week

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the new babies in our community. One of the first things people do is examine both the baby and the parents. Does he have his mother’s eyes? His father’s ears? Everyone has a different opinion, but this is a common topic of conversation with little ones. As they get older, parents and close friends start to notice other ways children are like their parents. They develop many of the same mannerisms, preferences, and attitudes. Eventually, as adults, most of us realize for ourselves that we are indeed becoming our parents! Sometimes that’s a happy revelation, but other times it can be very sobering.

Just as children resemble their parents in many ways, all humans bear the image of God. When God first created humans, it was in his own image (Genesis 1:27). God gave humans many of the same traits as he had himself, including a soul and spirit, a conscience, the ability to reason, and deep emotions. These things set humans apart from all other creatures in this world, and they are all marks of God’s image on us.

Because all people bear the image of God, this gives all of us infinite value and worth. We treasure people because they were created uniquely by God in his image. Psalm 139 is a praise written to God for his hand upon our lives. Verse 14 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

When we believe that this statement applies to all humans, it greatly impacts our interactions with them. It teaches us to treasure and value each person. While everyone is unique, each individual is also wonderful. Even though we all make many mistakes, that doesn’t detract from our value to God and should not change our impressions of one another.

We have focused on practicing kindness at school this week as an act of treasuring people. As you go into the weekend, try as a family to practice acts of kindness both to those in your circle of acquaintance and even to strangers you see in the community, remembering that each person bears the image of God.