I wrote a devotional, three years ago today and it started like this … “Why do you find it easy to put your mouth on folk? Why do you find it cool to talk about somebody else? Why do you feel the need to comment about everything and everybody? Aren’t you old enough now to be acting your age and not your shoe size?” – And the sad reality of today, three years later, this is still relevant because we find it easy to bully, speak on what we don’t know, criticize what we cannot explain and condemn what you don’t think is right. When did we stop caring whether or not our brother/sisters are perishing? When did it become okay to put your mouth on folk because you can? When did it become cool to judge me as guilty until proven innocent? Ma’am, you have no basis to put your mouth on me simply because your car cost more than mine when they both serve the same purpose. Sir, you have no right to compare my subsidized housing to your 5 bedroom house when they both give us roofs over our heads. Yea, you may be eating steak and I got ground beef but we are both fed. Yea, your shoes may cost more than mine but aren’t both of our feet covered?
What I am really trying to say is, HUSH! You don’t know what the next person is going through. Stop asking when she will have a baby when you don’t know the struggle she has been dealing with having a closed womb. Stop asking when she/he will get married when you cannot begin to understand their daily struggle of trying to get over their last relationship. Quit telling folk they will not succeed without a college degree when you don’t know their underlying struggle of barely making it through high school. Stop telling folk they will go to hell for not tithing when they’ve never been taught how to handle finances correctly. Stop putting your mouth on folk. It doesn’t matter if you are close and know what’s going on, hush. Can you not just show up and be there? Can you not just say I’m praying for you? Can you not just text and say I believe in you, I’m proud of you or I see you working hard? Can you not just hush? Everything does not warrant you giving your two cents. Sometimes she may just be posting because it is her only outlet. Sometimes he may just shut down because that’s his way of dealing with stuff. You have no right to judge because today it may be them but in a minute it could be you.
Lakisha, the Author 