We see the news stories, we read the social media post and we even hear about what happened to someone we know and reaction is usually what you would have said or done. But how accurate is your reaction? I mean, how do you know what you would do in a situation, you’ve never been in? How do you know how you’d react, if you’ve never come face to face with danger? Don’t you know fear has the power to paralyze you? I get it. The bible says God does not give us a spirit of fear but baby flesh is something else. All you have to do is get woken up, in the middle of the night by a strange sound or let someone walk up on you when you aren’t paying attention or have a gun stuck in your face. You don’t know how you’ll respond so stop speculating on what you’d do in a situation if you’ve never been in it. Stop offering your advice on something you know nothing about. In other words, hush! Because it is easy to say what you would do, when you are on the outside looking in. But how accurate is your reaction? Sure, you’ve experienced grief but you can’t tell a mother, who has lost her only child, how it feels when you haven’t. Losing a parent is different from losing a sibling, losing a sibling is different from losing a spouse and losing a spouse is different from losing a child. Grief is grief but there are different levels and if you haven’t experienced, firsthand, what someone is going through, HUSH!
Yes, it’s easy to say you’d leave an abusive spouse if you have never come face to face with a monster who looks like your husband or wife. Of course, you can say how fast you’d leave somebody who cheats on you, if you’ve never been cheated on by a man or woman who you love with all of you and willing to give another chance. It’s easy to say how you’d deal with someone who has mental issues until that person is a brother, mother, sister or father. You can say, you’d walk away from a fight until it’s your life on the line. You just don’t know how you’d react. Maybe you will react differently and maybe you will not but you don’t know until you’re faced with the same situation. So, please, stop judging people who have made decisions you might not have made. Your faith may be stronger and wider than theirs. However, the bible says in Romans 14:1, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.” Do not make people feel bad over the choice they had to make while in the middle of a situation. Do not judge folk over what they did when anger was consuming them. Do not condemn those who make a mistake. Bible says in Romans 15:1, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” And if what I’ve shared isn’t enough, just remember this … It may be me today but it could be you tomorrow so be mindful of how you react to my reaction.
Lakisha, the Author 
Amen!!!