Never Feed the Bully: Reflections (Part 7)
Categories: Léo’s Insights 2022-2023, Reflections
Continuing with the attempted acquisition of Education Unlimited in early 2021 is necessary to demonstrate other lessons learned. Although there were some misgivings on the part of some staff who thought giving the chairman what he was demanding would appease him and make the problem go away, I could not and stood my ground. Repeated efforts by this “pastor” to dissuade parents from continuing with Education Unlimited and to persuade them to join his school’s largely non-existent home education program ended up alienating the parents who found this activity bewildering.
While Faye and I received a registered letter announcing the termination of our agreement and therefore our association, all Education Unlimited teachers were offered employment with this “new agency”. Our contracts were terminated, our clients were enticed to go with this new regime and EU had nowhere to go at that given moment. It looked hopeless, yet I was not despondent, as life’s most challenging opportunities are often brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems.
I cannot tell you how many times I felt like screaming regarding this ridiculous situation. I had to constantly remind myself this was not from God. I bit my tongue, broke my pen and bandaged my fingers so I could resist the temptation to react to the pastor’s increasingly bizarre efforts at declaring ownership of EU’s parents, children and the digital powerhouse I had created over the last two decades.
My understanding that any efforts to defend myself or the parents being violated would simply feed this bully’s ego, led me to turn the other cheek. The hand that had repeatedly slapped that cheek ended up withering in the most sensational back-firing I have ever witnessed. However, it still cost me much in grievances and additional work.
The Lesson (Matt. 7:15 & 10:16)
Feeding a bully only encourages him to greater attempts at absurdity. Do not surrender to manipulators. Remember, when there are no players there is no game.
This lesson was required for our future which would ultimately involve even bigger, more unreasonable bullies and higher stakes. God was protecting and preparing us for what was to come.
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