Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Leaders or aspiring leaders who feel that babies, when unwanted, can and should be disposed of legally are examples we’ve seen before in the Bible.
Pharaoh, the mighty king of ancient Egypt, and Herod, the king who reigned as the ruler of Judea, are just two. Exodus 1:16-19 shares from Pharaoh’s story in the Old Testament:
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”
Herod took a similar action in Matthew 2:16, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.”
Many may react and say, “How dare you compare any of our presidential candidates to these ancient tyrants – these barbarians!” Yet the comparison is not only appropriate, it’s one in which we in the Church in particular and in our culture as a whole need to take a long and hard look.
When we consider the history of what these wicked leaders did for their own selfish, cruel, and heartless reasons, it is easy to criticize them. However, consider this: if we notice many of the candidates for the office of President of the United States of America have the same perspective towards unwanted children in the womb and even some who are just delivered, then we have a great reason to pause.
Many of these candidates have very large followings. They have many people who support them just as they are, baby killer perspective and all. This reality is one of the greatest tragedies of our present presidential campaign landscape.
Birds of a feather
Tragically, these candidates reflect the hearts and thinking of those who follow them. We are living in a world where we can easily look at history and look at many other leaders as well as the two mentioned, and be angry, critical and horrified at the masses of people they murdered.
However, if you are supporting a leader who thinks, acts, and supports such perspectives, where does that place you as a human being? What does that say about your own character? What does that say about who you are siding with in the context of all of history?
Many will say, “Well, abortion is just one single issue – there are other issues just as important if not more important than this one issue!” One issue is not greater than the others.”
Like the slavery issue in the elections of the mid-1800s, this abortion issue towers above the others.
If the lives of millions of babies are snuffed out, what does it matter that the economy is good? If millions of the most innocent U.S. citizens can be legally murdered, foreign policy is insignificant for them. For the precious babies whose lives were cut short, the creation of new jobs won’t matter. They will not be here to live, to love, and to serve God. They will not be here to fill the jobs, to pay into the economy, to pay taxes.
Imagine you lived in the mid-1800s, and the candidate you initially favored had excellent ideas and perspectives on almost all the issues important to you. He or she was brilliant, articulate, and passionate about his or her message. Your candidate was outstanding in every way but one.
He or she supports slavery.
Would you decide that slavery was just one “small” issue, and with all the other virtues of this candidate, this small “problem” could be overlooked? Would we push this reality to the side? Or would you decide that this one issue is big enough to overshadow all the rest of the virtues of this individual?
My hope is that you would be wise enough to understand that some issues clearly are much bigger in importance than others. Some are greater in importance, impact, and in the magnitude of the consequences that will be produced — one way or another.
The Word of God tells us this in one of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13. Also, in Deuteronomy 30:19, God tells us to “Choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Where do you stand?
Photo credit: Dave Bledsoe (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved
Joseph Parker serves as the pastor of Greater Turner Chapel A.M.E. Church in Greenwood, Mississippi, and the Director of Outreach and Intercession with the American Family Association. He has been in the ministry for almost 40 years and hosts the radio broadcast, “The Hour of Intercession,” on the Urban Family Communications Radio network.
The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Black Community News.
