I Should Shut Up
Last week someone told me that I shouldn't speak
Because I was a monster not by design
But by the way I define myself
Because I was found in Christ
They said I wasn't a lover but a liar and a hypocrite
Because I said love your neighbor when I kicked those I'd knocked down
They told me I was better off dead or gone or isolated
Because there's no such thing as a good Christian
I think I cried
I can't remember if there were tears
I was too busy to notice if my soul tried to escape my eyes
For I had to pray to a God that loved his children that couldn't see
Because I thought I was good
Never had I ever told a person to die
I'd never called names or said bad words
I smiled in the halls and said I love you
Because I understood one thing if nothing else
God loves children no matter their race, religion, orientation
No matter their politics or dirty running
No matter their crimes or their abuses
Or even their hatred
And I felt I had one thing that I must do
And that was love my neighbor
For a while, I stood on the edge of a knife
That seemed to cut deep so long as I didn't take the plunge
So I told God that if he didn't tell me what to do I didn't know if I would do right
I couldn't hear his answer because I was too afraid to listen
So I jumped and hoped
I ended up in a circle
There was a Muslim girl by me that said people thought she was a terrorist
A Jewish child told me others thought of him as part of the Jesus killers
A black boy said he'd gotten accused of stealing when returning a purse
An addict told me he didn't deserve to have the girl he loved
A girl said she used to be a boy
A bruised boy said he tried to get rid of his dad's alcohol stash
An Asexual said she isn't supposed to exist
A teenager told me he was a former bully that no one would give a second chance
A boy who'd been raped said he deserved it
An atheist told me she was going to hell
An autistic girl said she was retarded
A homosexual told me his parents kicked him out
A woman said she will never be as strong as a man
I said I've been labeled
and they took my hand
After a week, a man told me I shouldn't speak
Because I was found in Christ
He said I didn't deserve a vote
Because I was a persecutor
He said I deserve a noose around my neck and a blade against my skin
Because I didn't know what it felt like
He said that one day the ones I loved would leave me
Because I deserved it
I told him I loved him and so did God