Bleah.

[The_Lords_Froggy]

What do you do when you're a high school student and you have this guy following you around that you can't get rid of? From a religious standpoint, he's an athiest and he doesn't agree with my viewpoints. He follows me around to push my buttons and make me blow up on him. I mean, he doesn't make me blow up on him, I do it myself but it seems that no matter what happens, he always hits the right nerve, and I just go off. I don't even know what I'm doing and now I'm sitting here, ten to twenty minutes after it happened in the school library, wondering why I keep doing it. This is the habit that I keep talking about, that I can't get rid of. I keep trying to stop, but it seems that my sinful nature always gives over. What should I do to progress, while putting my trust in Christ? I feel like he does it just to watch me get mad. However, I just don't know. Please help me, and please pray for me. --A sister in Christ.

 

[Pseud]

I'd speak to a teacher and get him to stop.

 

[robl]

Use the opportunity that God is providing you to witness to him, pray for him (right in front of him out loud when he starts to hit your "nerves") and quote him scriptures. He will either stop following you around or the Lord will start to soften his heart to the gospel. You can't lose on this one if you follow Gods lead and trust what He is telling you.

 

[The_Lords_Froggy]

Thank you for answering. I'm home now, and I've calmed down by reading the Word and praying. I only need to apologize to him now.. And Robl, that would work very well if I could keep my mind on serving Jesus, like I want to. He angers me so badly, because he ends up insulting Jesus when I try to do that. I know it's no excuse, but I'm a weak person and my temper is rather short, another thing I must work on. Thank you for answering so quickly. -Karmenz

 

[robl]

Keeping our minds focused on Jesus is an area we all need to work on, I'm sure. The more you practice it, the easier it becomes, though. Pray for him when you are not around him and also pray that God will prepare you for the next time you see him. I will pray for this as well.
In His love,
Rob

 

[Momzilla]

Here's a thought. The next time he starts in, take his hand and say, "Friend, I love you as a child of God, and I pray for you, but I cannot talk to you about this right now. Please leave me be."

I think it would be wonderful if you could stand there and witness to him without losing your temper, but if you're not able, maybe the thing you need to do is exercise the gift of self-control and walk away from it, with love. If he keeps after you, then I think you should talk to a teacher or adminstrator about his harrassment.

Good luck.

 

[Foundthelight]

Pray first for wisdom from God in dealing with this person. Pray that the Lord will put the right words in your mouth. Pray this a lot. Then pray for self control. A lot.

Secondly, this person is a BULLY. You really do need to talk to a teacher. A bully gets satisfaction from pushing buttons. I think it must cause a release of endorphins in their brains when they see that flash of anger on your face. There are two things that can make a bully stop. Intervention by someone in a position of authority or, a lack of reaction or different reaction from you. Smile at him, be nice to him, and it is important to deflect him by telling him that if he wants answers to his questions he should come to church with you. Do not play into his hands by engaging in an argument. Remember to deflect him. Change the subject to something that happened in school, or current events, or invite him to church. Do not argue.

Good luck and God Bless!

 

[Knight]

You could stave off showering for a couple of weeks. That should get rid of him for good.

He's probably just doing this to set you off. It's sometimes hard to control our tempers in the light of persecution. (Believe me, I know.) However, if he dosen't see a reaction he'll probably lose interest. The only trouble with this technique is that it usually gets worse before it gets better.

 

[1Faith1]

Do you have a youth pastor or another Christian guy friend you could talk to about this? I agree that this guy is a bully and if you could get another male to talk to him, that might help. Someone like a youth pastor would be able to tell him to leave you alone and take the time to share Jesus with him. I personally do not believe that person should be you.

Pray about this first, but you could try gently and firmly asking him to please leave you alone and not talk to you anymore. As a Christian, you are not called to accept and endure abuse just to spare someone else's feelings. Jesus tells us to love and pray for our enemies, but there's nothing wrong with avoiding them to protect ourselves.

Hope this helps a bit!