Back in the days before zero-tolerance bullying policies and on-board cameras, I had an assigned seat in the second row of the school bus, and the two boys who sat behind me were relentless with their pestering. One of them would poke me in the shoulder and then yank his hand away each time I turned around. I tried ignoring them, but I had a sore spot on my shoulder from the day-in, day-out jabbing. It was awful.

Granted, my little brother and I used to argue like cats and dogs, but we never got into a hand fight. Up to this point, I had never lifted a fist to anyone in my entire life, but these two boys had pushed me over the limit. One afternoon on the way home from school, I finally mustered up my courage and turned around to face the bullies. In the tone of voice that I reserved for my brother when he got on my last nerve, I told them: “Touch me one more time, and I am going to deck you!”

Obviously, they didn’t believe me, because within seconds, one of them poked my shoulder again. I whipped my arm around the seat so fast that I back-handed one of them across the face before he could duck. As they both sat there in shock, I turned to look at the driver to see how much trouble I was in. She just glanced up at me in the rearview mirror, made eye contact briefly, smirked, and kept driving. She never said a word to me about it, and they didn’t poke me anymore.

Was I justified in standing up to those boys? I’d like to think so, but even still, I keep thinking about all the times I must have pestered God the same way those boys tormented me. Every time I willfully sin and repeat the same mistakes over and over again, I wonder if it causes him pain. How many times have I poked at that same issue, just testing the limits to see how much he would take?

Thankfully, “God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs” (from Psalm 103, The Message). Amen to that! This week, let’s work on being more like James described: “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (1:19, NIV).