Kierra Sheard on Allowing Emotions to Rule Over Wisdom and Consequence of Sin (Interview)
Gospel singer Kierra Sheard comes from generations of renowned worshipers, but that doesn't mean she's afraid of exposing the dirty details of her personal life that might help save souls when the music stops.
Sheard, the 29-year-old daughter of singer Karen Clark Sheard and granddaughter of the famed choir director Mattie Moss Clark, is doing just that in the Centric TV docu-series "Being." In the show that documents the lives of entertainers, Sheard doesn't hold back in her March 25 episode that tackles issues like her unhealthy relationships and decision to undergo plastic surgery.
Even though the singer had cameras following her during her family's 2013 reality TV series "The Sheards," a lot has happened in four years. In "Being," Sheard will dig deep about her music career, childhood and personal journey as a young adult.
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In the show, viewers will hear from Sheard's childhood friends, including her best friend who later died from sickle cell disease. The show might be one of Sheard's most revealing feats yet.
The cameras are also turned on for Sheard's ex-boyfriend who she once caught with another woman.
"Nothing can separate us from [God's] love. But honey, I was in my zone and I was ready to just kill him. In that moment I wasn't thinking about my career, what God had set up for me," she recalled in an interview with The Christian Post. "I wasn't thinking about if I had taken anybody's life away what it could have destroyed. I could have completely destroyed God's promises for me acting out of emotion and being tied to the wrong person at that time."
For Sheard, transparency is important. Even though her music career is centered around her faith, she doesn't want people to have the false perception that she doesn't sin.
"Sometimes we have a tendency to put our most favorite influential people on a pedestal. When something goes wrong we're completely let down and we completely forget that they're human," Sheard told CP. "I understand that I have a connection with a lot of people who are younger than I am. I want them to know that I'm not perfect and I don't want you to ever be so disappointed in me where it affects your walk with Christ if ever something happens like that."
As a millennial, Sheard has noticed that the younger generation enjoys reality shows and social media because it helps them relate to other people and feel less alone in their individual circumstances. When she shares personal bits about her life, Sheard hopes to give people that same feeling.
"As believers, as [people] of faith, we're not God. I believe God uses people to connect us to the body of Christ and share His love," she said. "I share His love by saying, 'you know, I was disobedient here as a child of God and it wasn't God who punished me. It was a consequence of my sin."
As a gospel music singer and evangelist, Sheard's quick to say that her sins are no less problematic that anyone else's. In a transparent moment with CP, she recalled how her struggles with a previous toxic relationship once led to a fist fight with another woman that could have ended her career.
Soon after she graduated high school, Sheard said she threatened and hit a young woman who was getting too close to her then boyfriend. When it was time for the singer to attend the Grammy Awards with her mother after the altercation, police were looking for the young singer.
Sheard said she never forgot the moment or what God taught her about it.
"I feel like the Lord allowed me to experience that to show me, 'If you continue to stay connected to the wrong people and if you continue to act out of emotion and not use wisdom, you will destroy moments like this of being an the Grammys. You'll have moments like this where people won't want to deal with you because you bring drama,'" she said. "I'm a strong believer that your gift can take you someplace but it's your character that keeps you there. That's definitely a moment where I did not use discretion."
The singer hopes stories like these can help people avoid making the same mistakes where they allow their emotions to rule over wisdom.
"I want to maybe be like that big sister or that sister that someone has never met to say, 'Hey, don't go down this road. This road goes left and ends up here," she said. "I'm excited about doing it; however, I do believe in using discretion with what you share. So I hope I do display that with my transparency."
While she seeks to inspire people by sharing the wisdom she gained from the moments she's not so proud of, Sheard also serves as a positive example of a Godly woman who uses her faith in her entrepreneurial pursuits.
Sheard is a business owner who launched her Eleven60 clothing line in 2015, and will share all of the things she's learned about budgeting and branding in a webinar called Kierra's Krash Kourse on March 27–28.
"I used to be terrible with my money. I'm still asking my dad to loan me some money for part of the clothing line," she admitted. "In Kierra's Krash Kourse you'll get tips which over time have allowed me to recoup that money once the Lord saw, 'Oh, she's a better steward of her money. Now she needs it so she can fund whatever ideas that she has."
With all of her entrepreneurial endeavours, Sheard still makes time for her music. Her song "Hang On" currently sits at No. 3 on Billboard's "Hot Gospel Songs" charts.
Outside of being a gospel singer and entrepreneur, Sheard is also working hard to help people develop their own personal relationship with God.
"I hope they're all inspired to really get to know God for themselves. Unfortunately, so many times I'll say 'Oh, God is just too complicated to love,' or we'll say, 'I'll push it off for when I'm ready to give my life to Christ,'" she said, advising people to just give in to God's love. "Just allow His love to overflow and correct what is wrong and what could be better. It's the best thing that could ever happen to you."
For more information about Kierra Sheard, click here.
