Think Twice

Yesterday my parents were watching Glenn Beck. I happened to look over to see what he was talking about that day and saw the guest couple on the show. At this time, I had no idea that this couple were burn survivors; they had been in an airplane crash that ended in flames, they barely made it out alive. My first thoughts upon seeing the woman's marred face was how displeasing she was to the eye. I thought of all the other, prettier, females that could have been on the Glenn Beck program. My next reaction was to compare myself to her. The gratification of being pretty in comparison, however, was short lived. The woman displayed such soundness of character and faith in God, that I was utterly ashamed of the darkness in my heart that had caused me to even think of comparing myself to such a wonderful creation of God.
 As humans, we often find ourselves being compared to or comparing ourselves to others. At home, at school, even at church, we find ourselves being bombarded by the standards formed by the world around us. This is especially true amongst teenage girls. In magazines and TV we are taught to try to be better than everyone else: to be smarter, prettier, more intelligent, more successful. It is only natural then for us to compare and even bully others. The source of bullying is not because a person is mean-hearted, like common belief says, but rather because the insecurity caused by modern media. The problem is not that all girls are mean and viciously rude, instead it is that all girls are taught to be insecure of themselves.
What, then, is the solution to bullying? Is it finding the bullies and giving them a "taste of their own medicine"? Do we punish people for their insecurity? I believe this problem can only be reversed one person at a time, starting with you. I encourage you to think twice before you speak. Words are very powerful. I also encourage you to join me in an effort to think better of our fellow men and women. When you think a degrading thought of someone, think of two uplifting things about that person. Not only will this decrease the amount of bullying, but also increase the security of others and ourselves. Please leave comments if this has helped you in any way or if you want to join the effort to end bullying.