Rudolph was bullied
I wanted to talk about ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’. Really, the song has a cute tune but there is an underlying message which is quite disturbing.
Those other reindeer, we are told, called him names, said bad things about the fact that he was poor, said that he was a weakling because he had a limp, called him names because he was being raised in a single parent family; said nasty things about the way he looked; made fun of his big nose; maybe even made comments that he was adopted or living in foster care; didn’t let him have fun and have positive playground participation like a young reindeer should have fun.
To gain acceptance and recognition Rudolph had to do something exceptional. This is not a good message for any child, teenager, adult or senior. Why would anyone have to do something exceptional or extra-ordinary in order to be accepted?
These other reindeer did not show Rudolph any grace. He had to work for acceptance and I find that very hard to process. There was no grace there. Our society does not display a lot of grace. But I think about another story and that is the Christmas Story where a helpless little baby was born, we are told, who came to bring grace. In fact Jesus was the Word who was made flesh and lived here on earth and we can see His glory; He was full of grace and truth. I want to live in that kind of grace; I want that grace to motivate every one of my actions; not just at Christmas but every day of the year; I want to be the one who does not accept bullying; I want to be the person who recognizes value and worth in every human being. I want to share this great Grace, personified in Jesus Christ. Will you?
Helen Van Zutphen
Duncan