It’s been a long week of watching Meghan Markle navigate the course of “Your Majesty” the Queens’ funeral activities.
It’s been a long week of wondering why mainstream media has not covered the alleged actions of Brett Favre in the Mississippi welfare scam when it vigorously went into a frenzy over Michael Vick, then, alleged of dog fighting.
It’s been a long week of me communicating to social media platforms the truth about people, processes, and events to combat misinformation, blatant untruths, and accusations.
It has been a long week.
There has to be something in the air, and I have deduced that the battle to exist, equally and fairly, has worn on us all.
We may not be done but, clearly, we are tired.
Our guard is down. We have allowed wolves to enter our sacred space, and we have homegrown a few.
I had a dream some time ago.
There were three of us leading a group of people to safety. I was one. The three of us had successfully got the group to what seemed like a safehouse. While they rested, the three of us made plans to keep moving. For safety, two of us would go out ahead to clear the way. One was to stay at the door to make sure everyone got out and followed the beaten path. I went to clear the way. As people passed through the doors, the leader at the door did something that no one had anticipated. That leader began to shoot people leaving out the door. To this day, I can still see my face looking at that scene in my dream. The audacity of a trusted leader to turn and harm the very people who were to be protected was appalling. I woke from the dream but the thing that sticks with me is this:
WE ARE HAVING TO BATTLE OUR OWN “BROTHER” OR “SISTER” WHILE TRYING TO DEFEAT OUR TRUE ENEMY!
We expect a fight from the enemy…but we got to fight our brother or sister, too?
We expect to be harmed, blocked, and accused with seething words by the enemy…but from my brother or sister, too?
This playbook, though, is not new.
Scripture tells us that the children of Israel rose up against Moses—their brother. The same Moses who went before Pharoah on their behalf. The same Moses who was given an assignment to lead them to the Promised Land. The same Moses who uprooted his life and family to advocate for their well-being.
The New Living Translation says it this way, “Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.”
I again say to you that WE ARE HAVING TO BATTLE OUR OWN “BROTHER” OR “SISTER” WHILE TRYING TO DEFEAT OUR TRUE ENEMY!
This should not be.
I get that we are all unique. We differ in opinion. We differ in how we see the world. We all see the Promised Land but, often, we differ in how to get there. Our differences should not position us as our brothers’ or our sisters’ enemy, too.
We have got to stop being like Tobias and Sanballat to someone like Nehemiah, who is simply trying to clear a path to get others to safety, or who is trying to rebuild.
We have got to stop following the loudest, squeaky wheel, whose best accomplishment is ranting!
We have got to stop being the Goliath to the same people who have our back.!
We have got to stop falsely accusing one another of actions that never happened!
We have got to figure out how to identify our REAL ENEMY and direct our angst there!
We are all not going to agree on everything. We are not going to see the world the same.
But friend, I do not want to spend 40 years on a journey that was only supposed to take 11 days.
We can learn from the children of Israel. We can glean from their experience and decide that this division, this anger, these hateful slurs, this backbiting, these untruths and lies stops with us.
I will ALWAYS hold up a standard. I will ALWAYS carry the banner of truth.
I know that I have to battle my enemy, but I don’t want to have to battle my brother or sister, too!
Sharwin Wiltz-Boney is an entrepreneur, business consultant/coach, speaker and author who currently serves as President and CEO of a financial infrastructure management company that has operated in the Houston area for more than a decade. Utilizing the experience, she has gained through business ventures and her very own life journey, Sharwin invites you into her Musings. Have a comment? Drop her a line at sharwin@sharwinboney.com.