THE ISSUE OF ABORTION

In this and many elections I have been a one issue voter because I feel so strongly about abortion. My stomach rolls when I think of an innocent baby being torn apart in the womb. I see our nation standing before the Lord and hearing Him say, “Whatever you did or did not do for the least of these.”

However, there is more to the problem of abortion than its legality. My first concern is our society's attitudes toward sex. I don't know how legislation could have much effect that problem. But I would like to see a president use the bully pulpit and other prominent figures in our society use their influence to appeal to Hollywood, fiction writers, and other media to help turn our thinking around. I also think we need to show compassion and give help to teenagers and women in general under the pressure of an unwanted pregnancy.

And I would also like to see adoption publicly affirmed and promoted. I like the promotion of adoption on soft drink cups at Wendy’s. I think it is interesting that there are so few children available for adoption that couples are paying tens of thousands of dollars to adopt.

I believe abortion is a major issue in America and the world. But we will not have significant impact on it if we are only concerned about its legality. Are you praying?

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Dave, I couldn't agree more. What we as believers need to be after in this - as any - issue is the glory of God. God is glorified in his creation, and that includes every single baby (born or waiting to be born). He's also glorified when his people reach out to help those who are facing difficult decisions and circumstances.

This is another one of those issues where I think that sometimes our "quick to anger" responses leave God's glory out of the picture. We act out of our own indignation rather than out of an overriding concern for God's glory. Which honors him more: marching on abortion clinics with signs that can be seen as judgmental and hate-filled, or taking in a pregnant teenager and helping her through the process of having her baby and, if the decision is the wise one, putting the child up for adoption? I'm not against marching (though I don't picture myself doing it), but I'm much more for prayer and reaching out.

Within the church, I think we make one further mistake. In our efforts to accept everyone (which are good), we are sometimes subtly (or not so subtly) communicating that all behavior is OK. We are not a transformed people and we don't challenge believers - new or old - to real transformation. That's a sweeping generalization, I realize - but if we were truly leading transformed lives as a whole, would we not already be seeing the revival we've been praying for these last several years? We need to call God's people to a different standard than the standard of the world. We need to be forgiving when mistakes are made, to be sure - but our message needs to be more like Jesus' "Your sins are forgiven...go and sin no more" than today's "Oh, it's OK. God forgives you and so do we. Don't worry about it and by all means don't feel guilty."

If the church were to live truly transformed lives, that would be seen by the world. Granted, we'd be the "aroma of death" to some, but our lives would legitimize the prophetic role of the church in society - a role long since forgotten and neglected in most parts of the Body. I fear that the salt has lost much of its saltiness, and this is why our message - be it pro-life, ,pro-morality, or whatever - is no longer seen as prophetic but as outdated and irrelevant. If transformation isn't relevant in our lives, what right do we have to expect it in society?

This, then, is my prayer. Yes, I pray over abortion and for positive alternatives. But - and this may be the only place I've ever deviated from your thinking, Dave - I've never been a one-issue voter. There is much that displeases God in our society and I try to vote in ways that would honor him across the board (as impossible as that often seems). And I pray across the board. I pray for true transformation in the church - a transformation that makes us look different from the world and restores our prophetic voice; a transformation that by God's grace makes the salt salty once again.

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Comments

Andrew R. Wheeler November 2, 2016 21:26

Thanks, Dave - I so much appreciate your comments as well! Have you read Dave Butts' "With One Cry"? I think you'd find it up your alley in terms of praying for our country.
David Young November 2, 2016 16:10

Andrew, I need to say I thank God for your encouragement to me and others on Pray Network.
David Young November 2, 2016 16:09

Well taken, Andrew. And I suspect our perspective on voting is closer than we sound when I use that strong term. I liked your statement of the issue of morality. In Matthew 25 Jesus focused on care for the poor, the hurting, aliens, prisoners and the oppressed in that group. I also have to oppose gambling, and filthy language. Those things make voting decisions much more complex. Next week's blog will be on praying down strongholds. The weapons of our warfare are not politics, as important as they may be.
Andrew R. Wheeler November 1, 2016 18:42

Dave, I couldn't agree more. What we as believers need to be after in this - as any - issue is the glory of God. God is glorified in his creation, and that includes every single baby (born or waiting to be born). He's also glorified when his people reach out to help those who are facing difficult decisions and circumstances.

This is another one of those issues where I think that sometimes our "quick to anger" responses leave God's glory out of the picture. We act out of our own indignation rather than out of an overriding concern for God's glory. Which honors him more: marching on abortion clinics with signs that can be seen as judgmental and hate-filled, or taking in a pregnant teenager and helping her through the process of having her baby and, if the decision is the wise one, putting the child up for adoption? I'm not against marching (though I don't picture myself doing it), but I'm much more for prayer and reaching out.

Within the church, I think we make one further mistake. In our efforts to accept everyone (which are good), we are sometimes subtly (or not so subtly) communicating that all behavior is OK. We are not a transformed people and we don't challenge believers - new or old - to real transformation. That's a sweeping generalization, I realize - but if we were truly leading transformed lives as a whole, would we not already be seeing the revival we've been praying for these last several years? We need to call God's people to a different standard than the standard of the world. We need to be forgiving when mistakes are made, to be sure - but our message needs to be more like Jesus' "Your sins are forgiven...go and sin no more" than today's "Oh, it's OK. God forgives you and so do we. Don't worry about it and by all means don't feel guilty."

If the church were to live truly transformed lives, that would be seen by the world. Granted, we'd be the "aroma of death" to some, but our lives would legitimize the prophetic role of the church in society - a role long since forgotten and neglected in most parts of the Body. I fear that the salt has lost much of its saltiness, and this is why our message - be it pro-life, ,pro-morality, or whatever - is no longer seen as prophetic but as outdated and irrelevant. If transformation isn't relevant in our lives, what right do we have to expect it in society?

This, then, is my prayer. Yes, I pray over abortion and for positive alternatives. But - and this may be the only place I've ever deviated from your thinking, Dave - I've never been a one-issue voter. There is much that displeases God in our society and I try to vote in ways that would honor him across the board (as impossible as that often seems). And I pray across the board. I pray for true transformation in the church - a transformation that makes us look different from the world and restores our prophetic voice; a transformation that by God's grace makes the salt salty once again.

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