Being pro-life and pro-choice is an oxymoron. They are diametrically opposed to one another. If you are pro-choice, you cannot be pro-life. To say you are pro-life personally and pro-choice politically reflects a lack of moral clarity.
I tried to hold onto this
“pro-choice for others, but pro-life for me” view coming out of college 20+
years ago. In my own heart, I would never have
considered terminating my own pregnancy or rejecting my baby, but, I would
never have presumed to make that decision for others! After all, I was
not God! I couldn’t say the value of an unborn child held more value than
the mother’s. I could not insist that woman, brutally raped, would suffer more
from an abortion than carrying the consequence of her attack for nine months.
No! I would not sit in the judgement seat for fellow women. After
all, I was well-educated, progressive in thought, and rather despised being
told what to do myself! I grew up on the coat tails of women’s liberation
and I enjoyed unconstrained freedom in my early adulthood. This had all served
me quite well, thank you.
Or...so I had thought.
In college, I managed to see just about everything the world had to offer me, and experience much of what women before me had fought passionately for. But, as I left the cocoon of academia, I soon discovered that I not only acquired a lot of knowledge, but a lot of confusion. I had an impressive degree to show for my academic efforts, but also a host of regrets to show for my personal choices.
Yes, choices. My choices. Foolish choices with consequences. Consequences that I was not adequately prepared for, and ramifications that I would not realize until years later. I didn’t have the foresight or maturity to know how my behavior would impact me and others in my future. Nor, in my selfish ambition, did I care. I was young, impulsive, and free.
“Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according
to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord” Psalm 25:7.
The transition from college to the “real world” was the most trans-formative time in my life. Despite my independence, I found that I knew little about who I was. I thought I had the whole world before me, but was left with little understanding of how to plot my own course. That corridor of my life led me to search out the faith that I had thus far, only considered upon convenience.
God knew my inconstant ways! The Bible says, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” Prov. 22:15. The youth is full with folly (Job 12:12; Prov. 19:20), and age alone does not lead to wisdom. We all know plenty of adults who were spared the rod of discipline and never overcame their foolishness! Nor will studies bring true enlightenment (Ecc. 12:12). No... the quest for wisdom leads way beyond the bounds of human efforts, as James counsels: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). Could it be that simple?
The journey for me was far from easy. Anyone who knows me, knows I am pretty stubborn and equally opinionated. Surrendering my views to Christ's views took time and remains an ongoing effort for me. So believe me when I say, even as I sought after Christ, I plead my case for pro-choice as passionately as I stand now against it. The problem with my arguments in favor of a woman's choice, wasn’t that I was lacking intellectual strength, but consistency in principle. To make a convincing argument for abortion, I had to first abort all other moral judgments. It was a frustrating time for me, because in my effort to be compassionate, I was robbing myself of a soul. Lest that sound dramatic, let me explain...
The more I came
to know Christ as Creator, the less I could hold dear to my own human
understanding. To limit God's ways, based on my view of what
was merciful or beneficial for anyone else, was putting myself in HIS place
more than I was before! God boldly revealed to me,
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
What a relief to release that burden! It was no longer about moral equity, but eternal insight. By realizing my human limitations, I was able to gain moral clarity by accepting what I know to be true (God's Word) and what I don't (God's ways). It changed the murky and complex dialogue from one of human rights to one of divine omniscience. It was no longer my interest to argue about bodily autonomy, quality of life, or healthcare accessibility. Instead I could rest in the absolute truth that we are not in a position to know what is best for us. To even presume we know what is best - a birth or an abortion – is absurd, because we don't know how God will use that experience in out lives. The only course forward for me, as a believer in an all-knowing and all powerful God, is to surrender everything to Him - and take Him at his Word.
The first thing I learned about his Word was this simple, humbling truth, discovered at the foot of the Cross: I am not my own.
Or do you not know that your body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have
from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a
price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (I Cor. 6:19-20)
God cannot reveal
his plan for us when human perspective gets in the way. When we ignore
his teaching, violate his laws and reject his grace, based on our
understanding, we cut ourselves off from his love, his protection and his
wisdom. We all have different experiences and different views, but there is one
truth we all have in common - we do know the future. We cannot know the
regrets we might have, the opportunities we may miss, or the blessings we may
forfeit from our decisions. But we do know who does. And if I am to
praise him in times of victory, I must trust him in times of tribulation.
It has become a simple argument for me - and it is an unwavering truth: "It is better to trust in the Lord than
to put confidence in man." Psalm 118:8
No comments:
Post a Comment