Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the author and are not necessarily reflective of Live Action or Live Action News.
Recently I read an article by ABC News that attempted to portray how the Black Christian community views abortion. It saddened me to read how misguided even some Christian “leaders” are when it comes to abortion. If we’re being honest, we must admit that our own personal journeys often create understanding (or a lack of understanding) when we read the Bible. At times, even Christians can misconstrue the words in the Bible. We are human, after all. My intention is not to cause division, but I could not agree with the justifications for abortion presented in that article.
We cannot say we live for God (the Creator of life) in one breath and in the next, say it’s okay to take away another human being’s life before they have a chance to leave the womb. God is not a God of death but of life. It is our responsibility as Christians to make choices that align with God — principles that align with our Christian values. We have to intentionally create an environment that inspires our children toward kindness and love, and toward valuing the sanctity of life. Repeating the same mistakes we as a Black community have made over and over again will not help us thrive.
It was painful to read the normalization and excuses coming from purported Christians in the Black community when abortion is the very cause of the rapid decline of our community. Yes, statistics support this. We, the Black community, are not only killing our own inside the womb but outside the womb with Black on Black crime. Yes, there are systemic arrangements in place to keep the Black community from thriving, but the question is, “When are we going to take ownership of our own actions instead of shifting the blame?”
READ: Yale Divinity School professor incorrectly claims Bible is silent on abortion
My whole life, my foundation was based on my belief that God was real and that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. But those beliefs did not run much deeper than that, and I had no idea that they even should. I ended the life of my unborn child when I was a senior in high school, though I claimed to be a Christian. I can give you a list of excuses as to why I did what I did, but honestly, I was selfish. I cared more about the future I had planned, my unstable relationship with my boyfriend, and protecting my image than I did about the innocent life in my womb.
It’s not enough to say you’re a Christian and live a life that contradicts Him. Knowing about God is different than living a life completely surrendered to Him. Actions speak louder than words. For many years I had no idea how my actions and words were speaking the exact opposite of what God wanted for me. In my earlier life, no one would have been able to tell I was a Christian, but when I truly began to believe and trust in Jesus, the scriptures I began to devour revealed how wicked my heart was apart from Him. They also revealed the freedom and healing I would receive from Him only.
The hardest part about my healing was taking ownership of my abortion, which was a very difficult thing to do. The only true victim in the situation was my unborn baby. Accepting responsibility for what I had done triggered the grief, sorrow, and ultimately, the freedom I needed to obtain in order to start healing. It was the knowledge of the Gospel that gave me my foundation and is why I am pro-life from the womb to the tomb now.
The Bible is not meant to create a god who fits our storyline or narrative. The Bible tells us who our Creator is, what He has done, what He will do, and how He desires us to live – and provides the tools we need to accomplish that. It does not promise an easy path. Often following God is not easy, but we are called as Christ followers to bring hope to a dark and broken world.
I would love to fix every wrong in society in order for every baby to enter into the world with no suffering, but it is just not possible. To blame the pro-life movement for not meeting every single societal want and need is heartbreaking, misguided, and wrong. It’s certainly a much higher standard than we set for many other movements.
Every movement/organization will always have its shortcomings, but being pro-life does not mean we only care about making sure a baby is born. It goes much deeper and further than that, though you will rarely hear this truth presented by the biased media. If you’ve had an abortion and are looking to heal, you need support to do this. The pro-life community helps with that. If you are alone and not sure if you should keep your baby, the pro-life community helps with that. If you’ve made the decision to keep your baby and you need a place to stay, the pro-life community helps with that. If you need diapers, clothes, support for staying in school, etc… the pro-life community helps with that. These are facts that are not widely trumpeted by those who have a pro-abortion agenda. Most of the organizations that provide help like this are small but mighty.
READ: Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy: If you believe the Bible, you cannot support abortion
I believe that even in the ABC News article, there is a call for a different outcome. One point of commonality I found with those mentioned in the article was the fact that we all want things to get better, to have a different outcome. We want circumstances to improve. Yet if we continue to rationalize our support for killing society’s most vulnerable — our own children in the womb — the outcome will never be different.
When you are a believer, you are to be set apart. You are no longer to do things the way everyone else does. Walking with God will often be a narrow road, but that road leads to life, not death. As Christians, we are supposed to affect the culture, not blend into it. Our actions reveal what we believe about God. If we really value life the way God values life, shouldn’t we be raising our standards instead of lowering them, regardless of the circumstances?
Bio: Toni McFadden is the founder of Relationships Matter and the Minority Outreach and Healthy Relationship Director for Students for Life of America. Follow her on Instagram here.
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