Today's blog will be a controlled means of catharsis for I've been patiently waiting for the abortion dust to settle a bit. Well on social media at least. I withheld my perspective on the issue in obedience to being "slow to speak and quick to listen."
To Listen.
There is a thrusting power in listening that suffocates the pride in the most arrogant of us. And I hope this piece reflects how well I've listened...
To the protestor
To the politician
To the pregnant
To the victim
To the enabler
To the saved
To the Word of God
Being slow to speak takes more faith than I often have for as you can imagine urgent matters ought to be handled urgently. But what if what happens in this life is not up to me, or you? What if the choices we are making are heavily influenced by something beyond ourselves that we're consciously or unconsciously yielding to? I'm going to attempt to steer us through thick controversy with grace and truth powered by the Spirit of the living God. If you're a Believer, open your Bible and follow along with a heart surrendered regardless of your personal experiences or sensitive relationship with the topic. I beseech you to be slow to speak and quick to listen. If you're an unbeliever, meaning you do not believe Jesus Christ is your savior & Lord, I also implore you to listen with an aim to learn a different perspective. This post will offend, trigger and ruffle plenty feathers. But it will also enlighten, encourage and restore hope in whom hope can be found. Bingers...we're going to make it out alive...I promise!🤓
The Great Debate
First and foremost, the debate between pro-lifers and pro-choicers has always been a straight-up dead-end. That is not to say don't stand up for what is right, but there is no progress towards justice without common ground. Though a false equivalence, abolitionists used the Bill of Rights as an incredibly compelling premise to fight for the dignity of Black people.
"All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
And even then, the fight is ongoing with small victories here and there.
On what grounds should abortion be illegal?
According to what assertion should abortion be a citizen's right?
The side that rejects life at conception justifiably exclaim for the right over their own body, while the opposing end legitimately recoil at the thought of unjust murder. The two sides are irreconcilable. The debate ends right where it begins. Thus the pendulum will keep swinging for centuries to come...Unless there is an objective truth from which real justice can spring.
For this very reason, I am going to narrow my audience to guarantee productivity... and that audience will be Believers of Jesus Christ. No surprise here lol 🙃
Can two walk lest they agree? Agree on where we are going that is. And where are we going exactly?
A little bit ago I mentioned that something outside of us is influencing us. Believers and unbelievers alike. We are either being led by God or our sin nature which is under Satan's rule. There is actually no in-between.🤷🏿♀️ Take a read:
Jesus said:
“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me." Matthew 12:30
Then Paul said:
"Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" Romans 6:16
Now if you're a Believer you USED to be fully controlled by sin, but the blood of Jesus redeemed and His spirit is washing you daily to do His good pleasure. Check out the text:
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:1-10
So where are we going? We are either moving towards God propelled by His Spirit or away from God, controlled by our sin nature under the evil governance of the prince of the world. Whose we are is foundational to our stance in this great abortion debate.
These two questions are at the crux of the matter:
Is your body your own?
And is there life at conception?
My dear Believer, whose are you? Let's find out:
"19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
If you winced, it's likely you opted for salvation from the ultimate consequence of sin without considering Christ's lordship...it's a two for one deal. And a deal indeed...one that's second to none! If you were saved from God's wrath, it is only right that God would also transform your very nature that once provoked His wrath. Your body belongs to God for your good; He aims to exchange your rotting flesh for the fruit of the spirit, your self destruction for eternal life, your darkness for His inexhaustible light. His heart is to trade beauty for ashes y'all! Your body is no longer yours to destroy and that's GOOD good news!
Now if you're an unbeliever reading this, you might view God's ownership of us as "oppressive" rather than freeing. I would liken God's takeover and makeover of a person sinning his way to hell...to a person on the brink of suicide in need of a suicide hotline, loved ones and mental health professionals. We do not let people commit suicide because suicidal ideations are often an indication of a mental health issue. Humanity has a spiritual health issue that God is willing to lovingly address when we give ourselves to Him.
Life
Let's stay with the suicide analogy a tad longer. We all draw a line at suicide...even those who believe everyone has a right to their own body.
Why?
Well a mother desiring to have an abortion is not mentally ill, but a suicidal person is.
Okay fair—but why don't we let that person put themselves out of their mental misery? So what if they aren't completely conscious of their decision?
We—Christians & non-Christians—believe that we have a civil duty to protect the lives of those who cannot make that choice on their own. We also hope that if we can provide the suicidal person resources for restoration, that person would like the choice of enjoying a healed version of his/her life.
Y'all. Just think—what kind of society would we be if we protected the baby's life while offering solutions for the mother...in the same way that we protect suicidal people while solving for their mental distress?
Or maybe you're taking issue with me calling the woman a mother and the mass of flesh a baby. Is the zygote really a little living thing in there? Is it really life that we are protecting?
Well let's read what the Word of God says:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:15
This verse implies two realities:
We were formed intentionally
We existed before we were born
Remember when God breathed life into Adam and he became a living soul? God is our source of life and our ultimate origin. He later creates our bodies to host our spirit and soul. Hence, life begins BEFORE conception in the womb.
So are you pro-life or pro-choice Lexine?
I start here because I want to be abundantly and unwaveringly clear about God's stance on the issue and thus my stance. Although we are choosing, there is no real right to choose what to do with our bodies because our bodies belong to the Lord. Furthermore, the choice is not between whether the zygote gets to develop into a living thing, because the zygote is already an actual person with a spirit and soul present right at the meeting of the egg and sperm. Before you get all excited or fumingly upset, you ought to know that not a single person on the planet is 100% pro-life either. Who is really drafting, voting, instituting and advocating for all laws and practices that protect life from conception to death?
How can you be pro-life, yet against solving the formula crisis?
Or silent about reforming foster care?
Or indifferent about rectifying abject poverty?
Global hunger?
Gun laws?
Pro what life people?
The Elephant in the Political Room
If you’re suspicious of abortion laws, you’re right to be. Humanity is broken and has been since Adam and Eve. No mission that is driven by people has pure intent. With that being said, Republicans couldn't care less about the unborn baby and Democrats couldn't care less about women’s rights. I say that facetiously on purpose. I know that there are exceptions but just go with me here. Polarization through political parties systemizes access to power. The Republican party X years ago advocated for issues that are now championed by the Democratic Party. Republicans made their switch when they realized that they could gain the grandiose backing of White Evangelicals if they petitioned against abortion. Learn more about this political game of chess through the documentary Reversing Roe on Netflix.
Let's face it, life is not a black and white checkered board. People are actually complicated and cannot be boxed into two, three political groups.
The truth is, within the Republican party there are genuine Christians, Christian posers, liberals who care a lot about making money, and everyone else. And even unbelievers know this. On an episode of Blacklist, a rape victim couldn’t get an abortion in a particular red state so Blacklist, being as freakish as it is, had the character kidnap high profile Republican men and surgically impregnate them using some advanced technology. Viewers can reasonably extrapolate that vengeance was her goal. One of her victims was the actual Republican governor who signed the policy into law and he flew to another state to abort the baby. We can conclude here that he was strategically supporting an agenda to wield political power. There was a plot twist though. The second victim was a pastor and he went through with the c-section to keep the baby. Why would a secular screen writer include this character? Because even unbelievers know that not all Republicans are the same. Some truly believe that there's life at conception and are willing to endure the repercussions of upholding this value.
The same goes for those in the Democratic Party: there are liberals who believe anything goes, there are superficial moralists, few conservatives, genuine Christians and everyone else. Your political party does not and cannot holistically define who you are.
So let’s stop drinking the political kool aid.😒
Laws are important, but what we see on screen is acting on a stage. If you want change, you won't get that by spewing hate speech, calling people murders or idly watching people do as they do in the name of "minding your business." Pray, exhort with wisdom/respect, encourage, vote wisely and help mothers. And if nothing else—pray and help mothers!
Pro God’s Choice
Having an abortion does not disqualify you from salvation nor does believing abortion is wrong qualify you for eternal life in Jesus Christ. Period. The way to life in Jesus Christ is seeing your brokenness in his presence, experiencing the magnitude of his love through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and accepting Him as both your savior and Lord. This is the choice that God is most concerned with. God is ultimately pro eternal life. And when you choose God, you ought to make a definitive decision to reject yourself—your desires, ambitions, dreams and so forth to take on what’s better—Christ alone. In the process of putting on Christ, your mind is renewed to see life the way He sees it.
Your renewed mind ought to see the Word of God as infallible and authoritative so that you may stand firm come what may.
So what does God have to say? Is killing ever permissible according to the Word?
The only form of lawful killing is one sanctioned by governments to protect innocent people. These officials are considered God’s agents of wrath designed to restrain and punish the outer workings of sin.
For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4
Therefore, defensive killing by those in hired positions such as soldiers is permitted as long as the law of the land does not contradict the Bible. I know you’re thinking what about historical conquests in the name of “manifest destiny,”and what not...you’re brilliant lol and I would love to talk offline, but for the sake of concluding this blog soon I cannot entertain that tangent. See me in chambers though!😌
Speaking of defensive killing, one can argue that pro-abortion laws protect mothers from babies who threaten mothers' literal lives which is especially unfair for the mothers who were raped or coerced into having sex. Fair point! Not so fast... there is a loophole in this argument. The baby is not choosing to endanger the mother's life. And in the case of rape, the one in error and deserving of punishment would be the rapist. But of course in instances where having sex is a choice, ending the baby’s life cannot be spun as a case of self-defense for the same reason—the baby did not ask to be here. The tough reality is this—we must own the natural consequences of having sex.
The Global Church
Many Christians have been very upset with other Christians—like myself—who have been less vocal on the matter. They argue that we are being hypocrites as we are militant about justice when it comes to issues of racism, gender discrimination, disability prejudice and so forth yet complicit when the topic of abortion peaks.
I will speak for myself on this one. Here is why. Sex naturally releases the highest dose of pleasure known to mankind. The HIGHEST! We would be insane to think that laws would deter people from perpetual indulgence... And if having a baby is a consequence of having sex, abortions are bound to continue whether they are legal or not. If I actually care about the health of the mother and the life of the unborn, I must be strategic in how I approach solving for abortion. Voting is easy. Loving people in practical ways is the difficult yet noble call of the Believer.
What do those practical avenues look like?
Let's start by doing our research to know the population we desire to support. Statistics reveal that most women who abort are unmarried and they do so for these top three reasons:
The inconvenience of having the baby at their stage of life (i.e. school/under age)
Financial issues
Relationship issues
Regardless of whether or not a mother believes in life at conception, the extenuating circumstances are usually the driving force behind the abortion. As the body of Christ, we have to listen to understand the real fears mothers have when they make these decisions before offering our solutions.
I personally empathize most with rape victims, teens, the poor, and the abused. To raise a baby under such awful circumstances can have a very negative impact on one’s overall livelihood and we as Believers must name that. While I do believe abortion is murder, I can’t say having an abortion wouldn’t cross my mind if my situation were bad enough. I am not better than a woman who caves under the pressure of her predicament. So with the greatest compassion, I want to acknowledge that mothers are often times stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Men—oo—men, let's practice our compassion.😏 Like seriously... It is critical that you understand how painful it is for a woman to listen to a man rebuking her when you will NEVER...I repeat NEVER experience what she is going through. You will never be put in a situation where you have to decide between having a baby or sustaining your health, having baby or staying in school, having baby or being free of PTSD triggers as a result of rape... Men, y'all need to chill. Men, y'all must pause to listen. As Believers, we generally do not need to have experienced every trial to exhort/correct others, but we must be humble in our approach with great awareness of how our privileges, identity and background impacts our entry point into these conversations.
When we, the church, have learned and listened, we then have a responsibility to care for women who feel they have no other option but to abort. As the church, we have to be careful to not weaponize the bible as a means to condemn but rather allow the gospel to do that inner work. Speak the truth in love. Defend your stance with tender care for the listener.
"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" 1 Peter 3:15
GENTLENESS & RESPECT! All caps for the people in the back!
If a Believer gets pregnant in-spite of knowing the gospel, we ought to have a plan to address the mental, the physical, and the spiritual health of this mother as well as proper care for the baby when he/she is delivered.
If a mother has been raped and fears for her health, we the church must support her healthcare.
If a mother has been raped and doesn’t want the baby yet doesn't trust adoption or foster care, we the church must care for that baby.
If a teen mother is worried about regression in school, we the church must help fill in the academic gaps.
If a mother is being abused by her husband and fears for the baby, we the church must seek justice/safety for the mother and baby.
Yes, this mother is our sister in Christ and thus our shared responsibility. If you're shocked by the call, just read the first few chapters of Acts for yourself! A church that responds to these circumstances with the overwhelming love, mercy and generosity of our Lord puts a mother face to face with the holiness of Jesus Christ. Conviction is born from kindness not condemnation.
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" Romans 2:4
The moralistic preaching is plenty. I think we good on the abortion debate. Let’s start showing people we are pro God’s choice by living out the gospel. That's addressing the very legitimate needs of the mother and in doing so, we will collectively reflect Christ as we ought to. The world will know that you are disciples of Christ by the way you love. In the end, it is not just about life here on earth, but eternal life with Christ.
While this blog may be rebuking many churches, there are quite a few churches and Christian organizations that are putting their money where their mouth is! The media will not publicize this so it’s our job to BE the church where there is a void! I was blessed with the opportunity to hear one of the founders of CareNet speak. He drew the most remarkable parallel between a woman who had an unwanted, unexpected pregnancy and Mary, the mother of Jesus. When I tell you the Bible is filled with people like us wrestling, and struggling yet overcoming by the power of God, you would be surprised! If you’re a Believer and you’ve had an abortion, confess, repent, and dust off! Do not condemn yourself for only Satan is the accuser of the brethren. You stand redeemed—continue to walk with Christ because He nailed that abortion to the cross! There is one way to Jesus, and that's faith in Him. Not works but faith alone in Christ alone. God has predestined you for kingdom work girlfriend, so get back in the field!
If you’re a Believer and sitting through this read was uncomfortable because you are currently contemplating whether or not to abort. Can I ask you something?
What is making this decision difficult for you?
What are you afraid will happen if you keep the baby?
If you’ve chosen eternal life in Christ Jesus, what is burdening you in this temporary one? What is it that you need?
Go to a care-net clinic near you or reach out if that’s easier! God’s global church is prepared to help you through this! Choose God's narrow path to righteousness and let His church walk alongside you the rest of the way!🤎
Did I navigate truth and grace with care and precision? Did you get what you came for?
I hope so! Let me leave you believing bingers with a few overarching nuggets to cling to:
You were bought at a HIGH price and therefore your body, your very life is not your own for YOUR good.
Rejoice in this: if God has made you His, you can trust that He will keep you in this life—even through the storm— and raise you up in the last day to live in eternal bliss with Him.
Don’t live in isolation or in unbelieving company but rather seek out a branch of His global church and do life in God pleasing community!
Ciao for now! Let's binge again soon!👋🏾