Being Bullied? What You Can Do Right Now

When you are bullied, you may start believing that the group’s opinion of you is the truth. You may lose your confidence and forget your value. But you must not let their approval decide your worth. Let the way God sees you become the foundation of your identity.

Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Bullying happens when a person is intentionally and repeatedly hurt or left out by a group. They may ignore you when you speak, refuse to sit or eat with you, or leave you out of group chats and activities. Rumors and teasing may also lead to threats or physical violence.

Lizzie Velasquez is an American woman who was born with a rare medical condition that made her look very different from other people. She was teased and bullied for many years at school. When she was seventeen, she found an online video that called her “the world’s ugliest woman.” Many people watched the video and left cruel comments about her.

Lizzie was deeply hurt, but she decided not to let other people define her. She began sharing her story in front of others. She later became a public speaker and an anti-bullying activist who gives hope to people who have been hurt.

Lizzie was not bullied because she had no value. People simply used her different appearance as an excuse to attack her. Bullies often target differences such as appearance, the way someone speaks, personality, disability, family background, religion, grades, or hometown. Sometimes they bully someone because they are jealous of that person’s talents or success. Saul hated David not because David had done something wrong, but because Saul felt that his position and popularity were being threatened.

Some bullies push one person out of a group to show their power. Other children may laugh along or stay silent because they are afraid of becoming the next target. This is how one person’s cruelty can grow into group bullying.

The deepest pain of bullying is not simply having no friends. It is the pain of being surrounded by people while feeling that no one is on your side. Even worse, you may begin to believe that the group’s words describe who you really are. You may think, “There is something wrong with me,” “No one could like me,” or “I will never be accepted anywhere.”

After hearing these messages again and again, you may forget your value and lose confidence in yourself and trust in others. Even when you need help, you may think, “No one will help me,” or “If I reach out, I will only be rejected again.” Then you may begin avoiding people before they have the chance to know you.

The person who believes and helps you does not have to be a classmate your age. It may be a parent, teacher, school counselor, church leader, relative, older friend, or another trusted adult. What matters is finding someone who will believe you, stay with you, and help keep you safe.

To overcome bullying, you need both protection from others and healing within yourself. The bullying needs to stop, and you need someone who can protect you. But even if that does not happen right away, your inner healing can begin now.

Do not say, “I am a bullied kid.” Instead, say, “I am being bullied right now.” Bullying is not your identity. It is something wrong that other people are doing to you.

You also do not need to earn the approval of the group that rejects you. If you believe you must be accepted by them to have value, you give them the power to decide who you are. Do not buy them snacks, do their homework, join in behavior you know is wrong, or help them bully someone else just so they will accept you. A relationship that requires you to hurt yourself or another person is not friendship.

That group is only one classroom or one circle of people. It is not the whole world. Their rejection does not mean everyone will reject you, and your life today is not your whole future.

Overcoming bullying does not mean getting the group that rejected you to accept you again. It means refusing to let their approval decide your value.

Galatians 1:10 does not mean that you should ignore all advice. If you have done something wrong, admit it and change. But having something to improve does not mean that you are worthless. Even if many people repeat the same cruel words, that does not make those words true. You must not do what is wrong or give up your faith and identity just to please a group.

God does not decide your value by counting how many people like you. God’s love for you does not become smaller when other people reject you. Your identity should be based not on what people call you, but on how God sees you.

I am not the name they call me. I am a person who is being bullied right now. Even if that group does not accept me, my value does not change.

Inner healing does not replace the need for protection. If bullying, threats, or violence continue, keep telling a parent, teacher, school counselor, church leader, or another responsible adult until someone takes action and you are safe.

Bullying itself does not make a person stronger. However, as you heal, you can learn not to place your value in other people’s opinions. Then, even as an adult, you will not lose yourself when a group refuses to accept you. With help from others, you can develop the inner strength to follow the path you believe is right before God, even when the crowd chooses a different way.