Christians, stop celebrating the abortion ban

Christians, this is not what a victory looks like.

"Consider it joy, my brothers...when you bend the state to your will and enforce your standards on your neighbors by means of fear of legal ramifications."

...is NOT what James said. In fact, James and fellow apostles spent approximately 0% of their time on politics. For Paul, the most influential of these,his greatest involvement with the government was his occasional stay in a jail cell. They stayed away from protests in favor of preaching. They disregarded the politicians and higher-ups in favor of the lowest, the least, the common. They spent their time not on bending the legal system to their moral code, but by allowing Jesus to chisel at their hearts daily through pain, suffering, and trial until all they had left was a sacrificial, consuming love for who the world considers the lowest.

Or have you read that Bible on your coffee table, Christian?

I think maybe some of you have, and I see where your heart is coming from, but some of you I think have not..and I see your heart, too.

Jesus was also not exactly politically active. His most famous stint with the legal system was probably the time they arrested, tried, and executed him. Other than that, there were few notable incidents of political involvement. (Even then, Jesus did nothing to fight or change what was seemingly not a very Christian system given that it actively executed Christians).

Have you read your Bible enough to realize that Jesus would not care about political parties or legal decisions, Christian?

If you have, you'll be familiar with the term, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's." In context, Jesus was referring to the Roman tax. The Jews at the time were divided over whether they should protest paying taxes to the Romans, because the Romans were immoral by their standards. Jesus was saying not to waste time on what in the end was inconsequential to the impact they were making on their culture. But let's say, for relevance's sake, that the issue in question was, say, abortion, and the government was, oh I don't know, the U.S. And let's say that the trap the Pharisees were laying involved asking Jesus if they should be protesting the government's allowance of abortion, because it clearly defies Biblical teachings (this same concept applies to all the trophies on your shelf, Christian, and all the "losses" too. Substitute in "gay marriage," "transgender rights," etc. It's important you realize this).

What would Jesus say?

Here's what I know he would NOT say. Jesus would not say very much at all about the legality of abortion, because Jesus never, ever came to control or sway the government. To view an abortion ban as a spiritual victory is unfounded, backwards, and cyclical - what will happen now that these states have outlawed the act? Will souls be saved? Will children be loved? Will women thrive?

No, Christian, they will not. So sit down, and stop celebrating. Honestly, just hush for a while. You've got some work to do that involves ZERO talking, as I would say to my students.

It seems that when it comes to the issue of abortion, the legality of the act itself is the only practical aspect most Christians care to fight about. What many fail to understand is that before Roe v. Wade, abortion happened at similar rates as it did after - except before Roe v. Wade, they were predominantly illegal and unsafe. Before Roe v. Wade, children were not loved more. People were not "raised better." Men did not uphold their duty to protect women. Women were not living in freedom. And when has enforcing our morality through law ever enacted moral or spiritual change? Never.

The only way humans were different before was just that they had abortions differently. That was the difference. Their hearts were the same, and one of the things we really, really know about Jesus (or WOULD know, for some of us, cough cough) is that he cared about the heart more than anything. It doesn't matter how much money you give (see woman at the synagogue), it matters where your heart is. It doesn't matter if you pray perfectly (see sermon on the mount), it matters where your heart is.

So, by ALL logic, by ALL common sense, and by ALL Biblical exegesis, it doesn't matter what the laws say about abortion. It matters where our hearts are, and our hearts should be on the hearts of others, especially those which suffer.

Abortion is a heart issue. It is also a physical and financial issue. Let's get practical. A woman whose hometown church is actively, passionately, and loudly proclaiming itself as a champion of the pregnant, in ANY circumstance, AND following through on that process, is going to be less likely to have an abortion. A woman with access to healthcare, adoption support, affordable or free daycare, babysitting, and an accepting community is going to be less likely to have an abortion. A woman whose baby is fathered by a man indoctrinated in personal responsibility is going to be less likely to have an abortion. Teenagers with sex education and access to contraception are going to be less likely to have an abortion. Teenagers with parents who love them and forgive them like Christ are going to be less likely to have an abortion.

Women, of any circumstance, young or old, single or married, poor or rich, Christian or not, who know without a shadow of a doubt that if they walk in to a church, showing a pregnant belly, no matter WHAT they will be loved, cherished, supported, and celebrated are going to be less likely to have an abortion.

As a woman, do I realistically think I would have most of these things?

I say this with all sincerity: I would have hardly any. And I'm luckier than most.

Christian, you hate abortion. You call yourself pro-life and celebrate your legal "victory." But what does pro-life really look like? It might look like YOUR daughter, 15 years old, becoming a mother. Are you prepared to celebrate that? It might look like a young, unwed mother that YOU are going to cook for, babysit for, counsel, and pursue. Are you prepared to celebrate that? It might look like a baby YOU are going to foster, or adopt. Are you prepared to celebrate that? I am not saying abortion should be legal. I am saying you should be prepared to celebrate that. Because being pro-life means that every woman who, heart full of hope and belonging, chooses life, every pregnant mother who walks into your church because she heard that that is where she will be loved, welcomed, and supported - there is your victory. 

In anyone other than a married woman, we treat pregnancy as a disaster, rather than a blessing. Then, we turn around and act surprised when women seek abortions, demanding to know why they are abdicating their "blessing." Why are we surprised when women don't want to be judged, disowned, abandoned, impoverished, and left with a child they can't support?

Nothing is going to change with this ban. All we've done is back these women into a corner, lord our power over them, and keep countless confined in desperate situations. Nothing has changed, or ever will change, with any law. It's not a sign of a movement in our nation towards Jesus. It's not a sign that women are being taken care of. It's not a sign that life has become more sacred. It's nothing except back-alley abortions, despairing families, and hopeless women. What Jesus knows, what Paul knew, and what I know now is that nothing really changes unless the heart does. And with this ban, if any hearts changed, it was only to grow more divided and hardened. If anything, this ban has exposed the horrific, gaping gap between the church and those it proclaims to seek more than ever.

Yes, abortion is un-Biblical and it is not the Lord's will. But the true victory will not be when it is banned. It will be when women are safe, loved, and protected enough in this world that it is unchosen, forgotten, and obsolete.

Do better, Christian. Sit down, stop celebrating, and get to work. Stop proclaiming victory and start listening instead.

Also, make sure to read that Bible. Don't miss the message that Jesus proclaimed most, or nothing will change. Give hope, give love, get active. You are needed for more than your political posts and your armchair opinions. Be a safe place, be a blessing, just do not be nothing but an armchair opinion.

Because celebrating this ban is a slap in the face if you've been quiet when we've pleaded for the lives of children at the border who are separated from their families and dying in prisons. Or those in poverty. Those without healthcare. The thousands upon thousands in foster care with no families. The daily massacre that is gun violence. Those who were silent then, your hypocrisy is exposed by your celebration now.

Let's do better. It's not time to celebrate yet.