When it comes to making a positive difference in the world, sometimes young people say ‘What can I do – I’m just a kid!’
The answer to that is LOTS! Kids from all around the world have made a difference to the other people’s lives and continue to do so right now. So don’t think just because you are young that you cannot make the lives of others better. God’s Word says in 1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (NRSV) God is saying to you that even though you might be young, you can make a difference for Him in your community!
In this series we explore 4 ways Jesus changed the world around him and we know you can do so too 🙂
3) Confronting the Powerful:
Bullies are everywhere – school, work, and even in the business world. Just as in the schoolyard where bullies pick on kids who usually cannot stand up for themselves, in business this also happens. Often big companies pick on poor workers and don’t pay them much for the hard work they do. These companies get rich and powerful at the expense of the poor, and the poor find it hard to fight back. But even in our local communities, sometimes the poorest and underprivileged find it hard to get a fair go because the powerful don’t care about them.
One of the most amazing examples of a kid confronting the powerful – the bullies – is that of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani schoolgirl who as an 11 year old fought for girls to be allowed to go to school in her area. The local warlords – the Taliban – told her to stop and that girls were not allowed in schools. She refused and so the Taliban tried to kill her! But she survived and continues to confront bullies in the area of caring for everybody, letting women and girls do whatever they like, and that all kids can be allowed to go to school.
Do you see people in your life who are being mistreated by those more powerful? Did you know you can write letters to your local Politician and tell them to make changes that help people being hurt by those more powerful! Perhaps even you don’t treat others as well as you should and you need to change?
Here is Malala speaking to the United Nations about the importance of education for kids 🙂
Salvo Social Justice 