Grace Before Malice

This portrait is part of POTSC's Labels Lie Campaign.

Bullying didn't really play a major part in my story as a child. I am fortunate to have many happy memories and very few painful ones. I can recall one instance of being intimidated when I was in kindergarten. Our school was basically one two-story building with K-3rd grade classrooms on the first floor and 4th-8th grade on the second floor. Amongst the students we were labeled "Lower Graders" until 3rd grade and "Upper Graders" once we were promoted to 4th grade. Needless to say, the "Lower Graders" always stayed out of the way of the "Upper Graders" due to human physiology and older kids' disdain for the younger kids. We even had separate recess times. One sunny day, as a kindergarten boy sometimes does, I got lost in my playtime and didn't hear the call to come back into class for the end of recess. I didn't notice my peers leaving the playground and the "Upper Graders" coming down the stairs to take over their territory. As I sat on the asphalt looking up into the blue sky, the Southern California sun was soon blotted out by three boys looking down on me. I was instantly snapped out of my play time fantasy and a sense of panic took over. The boys, who seemed like giants to me, asked me what I was doing out of my classroom. They started to shout at me, the "little lower grader",  to get out of there and get back to my class. I got up as quickly as I could and got into my classroom. My heart was racing and I must have looked like a terrified puppy. To top it off, my teacher reprimanded me for being late to class. Not the worst case of bullying ever documented but it obviously has stuck with me to this day.


We live in an age where the stories of people from all over the world are easily accessible. I have seen and heard bullying stories that would fill a lifetime of nightmares. These stories strengthen my conviction that people all over the world are in dire need of grace. Or at the very least a reminder of the golden rule. I love the way Matthew 7:1 is phrased in The Message; "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults - unless of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging." The next time we are drawn to our natural inclination to be cynical, let's think about the influence we have with the words we use. Grace before malice. This video, that's been making the rounds across the news outlets, sums up what labels and name calling can do to a person. This is a 14 year old boy named Jonah and he wants you to know his story.

To quote Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson from one of my favorite films, A Few Good Men; "We were supposed to fight for the people who couldn't fight for themselves." Let's do our part by spreading awareness, dispensing grace and fighting for those who struggle to fight for themselves.