The Wrong Side of Silence

Tell me—
what is silence?
Is it peace?
Or is it betrayal dressed in calm?
Kweku loved Ama,
but his love was a whisper,
never a word.
He carried firewood for her mother,
fetched water from the stream,
slaughtered chickens for her pot,
ran errands until his back bent low.
The whole village said, “Ama is Kweku’s woman!”

But Ama never heard it from his lips.
—And I ask you:
What is love, if it is never spoken?
So it is with us.
At work—we see wrong.
But instead of truth, we trade gossip.
In families—we bury wounds,
calling silence peace.
In friendships—we watch each other fall,

but love withholds correction.
In marriages—hearts cry in secret,
while lips pretend all is well.
And in politics—
Ah, in politics!
We see the rot.
But because it is our party, we are mute.

We see the lie.
But because it is our tribe, we clap.
We see the wound of a nation.
But because it benefits us for a moment,
we pour salt and call it blessing.
But hear me!
Silence is not innocence.
Silence is consent.
And
is the wrong side of history!
Who will speak?
—I will!
Who will stand?
—I will!
Who will choose truth,
even when it shakes the ground beneath their feet?

—I will!
For did not Mordecai say to Esther,
“If you remain silent at this time,
relief and deliverance will arise from elsewhere,

but you and your father’s house will perish” (Esther 4:14)?

Did not Jesus declare,
“If these remain silent,
the very stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40)?

And did not the prophet Ezekiel warn,
“If the watchman sees the sword and does not blow the trumpet,

the blood of the people will be required at his hand” (Ezekiel 33:6)?

So I declare:
This is the hour to speak.
This is the season to act.
This is the time to refuse silence.
For the Spirit of the Lord says:
“I have set My fire in your bones.
Do not quench it with fear.
Do not bury it with tribal pride.
Do not smother it with political convenience.

Cry aloud, spare not,
lift up your voice like a trumpet
and show My people their transgression” (Isaiah 58:1).

And blessed are those who speak truth,
for heaven will mark their names.
Blessed are those who stand bold,
for history will call them builders.
Blessed are those who refuse silence,
for the Lord Himself will defend them.
So arise, O people,
break the chains of silence,
and let your voice be the trumpet of righteousness—

for the future depends on the courage you show today.