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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me tell everyone when I see or experience mean kids. Amen!

"A poor man named Lazarus used to sit by a rich man's door, hoping for table scraps to eat," Jesus said. "The rich man never gave him anything. Then both men died, but only Lazarus went to heaven. The rich man begged God, 'Send Lazarus to help me!' But God said, 'You had good things while you were alive, and Lazarus didn't. Now, he can have them, and you can't!'"

Sometimes, it can seem like good things happen to kids who aren't so good. Popular kids may form cliques and exclude anyone they don't like; strong kids may hurt weaker ones. That's why anti-bullying programs have gotten so important in schools.

If you see someone being excluded or hurt, or that's happening to you, it's important to speak up. Tell everybody! Tell other kids; tell teachers; tell your family. Mean kids need to be confronted so they'll stop their behavior, and that means everyone has to be aware of what's going on. If you keep quiet, no one can help.

There's something else you should know, too: Kids who are acting hurtful will only get their way for so long. People will get tired of their meanness and not want to be around them.

This week's Gospel (Luke 16:19-31) is about a situation like that. A rich man refuses to share his food -- even his leftovers -- with a poor man. After they both die, only Lazarus, the poor man, goes to heaven.

The rich man doesn't understand, but God points out that he had plenty of opportunities to change his heart, and didn't. Now, Lazarus is getting everything he could ever want, and the "mean guy" is getting nothing.

Jesus makes the rules pretty clear about how we're supposed to live. He said over and over again to be kind to each other, take care of each other and not let injustices happen when we see them. Good things might happen for a little while to kids who are being hurtful, but in the end, they can't win![[In-content Ad]]

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