Since Feb 14th 2009 many of my Saturday mornings have been filled with crying out. Tripping down a broken sidewalk on Market Street, I have wrestled a dull mind (it starts at 7am) to plead with mothers not to have abortions. A common theme that (hopefully) makes its way from my mouth to their ears amidst all the shouting and confusion is that they must stop and consider what God wants. At this, many women have laughed in my face, called me crazy and other choice names, and mocked my “simplicity” for believing in a God who I cannot see.
I rarely have time to respond to their jeers, and thus I write my response here. God may not be physically visible in front of abortion clinics, but this does not mean that he is absent or unaware. In fact, he is so present, so aware that he actually inspired Scripture thousands of years ago that speaks precisely to the atrocities that occur on Market Street. This unsimple God used the pen of a wise king thousands of years ago to write advice to his son that these women need to hear:
My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason”… My son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?” Proverbs 1:10-11, 15-16, 20-22
A concerned father, guided by the very heart of God, explained to his son that there are those who ambush the innocent without reason. Along with this warning, he was hopeful explaining that the voice of wisdom cries out in the streets to those who have bloody hands. Wisdom, revelation, and the mind of God are accessible, heard in markets and at the head of noisy streets.
Today, there are many young girls whose parents are failing to give them such wisdom but instead are encouraging their daughters to have abortions. Their parents are sometimes with them as they go in for the procedure. And they mock too not knowing (or unwilling to acknowledge) that it is their actions that are foolish. It is to them that wisdom cries out “How long, O simple ones will you love being simple?”
But thankfully, even when their parents have failed, many of these girls still have wisdom available to them. God’s perspective on the value of every human life is cried out in love in front of many abortion clinics. The fact that their child’s heart is beating is being shared on the noisy streets. The opportunity to turn from living for self at the expense of another’s life and turn to a forgiving God is being offered. The awesome wonder of God knitting together their baby is being explained. God is present where Christians are present and God is shouting out his wisdom and knowledge on the streets. The problem is not in the “simplicity” of the message. The problem is that scoffers are delighting in their scoffing and fools are hating knowledge.
So, To those Pursuing Abortion, Will you Listen?
- Instead of seeking the company of abortion escorts who will rush you into the door of a clinic so you can pay someone to shed the blood of your baby…
Listen to the voice of wisdom: If sinners entice you, do not consent.
- Instead of living like there is no God…
Listen to the voice of wisdom: There is a God who made you and this God considers you and every person, born or unborn, valuable because he made people like him. He takes it personally when human life is destroyed.
- Instead of choosing simplicity and an empty life without God…
Listen to the voice of wisdom: Do not blindly accept simplistic slogans like “Trust Women”, but instead believe in the God who is outside of time, outside of culture, eternal in the Heavens.
- Instead of hating knowledge…hating it when people tell you facts about fetal development…putting in your headphones so you will not have to hear the truth…
Listen to the voice of wisdom: At conception, your child’s DNA was determined and was completely unique—different from all the millions of people in the world. Toward the end of the third week of your pregnancy, your baby’s heart was beating. About a month after fertilization, your baby’s hands begin to form. By the sixth week, his or her brain emits impulses.
Will you listen to these facts or will you hate that they are being shared with you?
Listen to wisdom, and God promises,
“If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.”
- Proverbs 1:23
Wow. That was passionate and powerful. I love where you are going as a writer Stacey.
But the sidewalk is two weeks too late. Wouldn’t this passion and power be better played BEFORE? Let’s educated our kids about the perils of unintended pregnancy with comprehensive sex education. Let’s educate them and provide them with birth control. Let’s also build a social construct where sex is not the defining factor, where folks of all shapes and sizes are worthy and wanted and people have more to contribute with their thoughts and feelings than their booties.
I know I am wearing you out these last two weeks with these comments so don’t feel like you owe me a response. Just know I recognize your passion and appreciate the power you put into your convictions. I think you are sowing seeds on rocky ground, though. That much passion and power could change many more lives if used on more fertile grounds.
I re-listened to that sermon. And yeah, I think I heard a bit better what it was you wanted me to hear. But in the end, despite his excellent delivery and downright clever wordplay, it was still things I have heard many, many times. I respect the importance to you so I am tiptoeing here. I am past that message. I know that sounds arrogant but it is the best I can do.
Since I listened, twice, to the sermon (and it is not short by any means!) I invite you to read this blogpost from a former quiverful member that exposes the dangers of modesty. It is not really relevant to this discussion, but it is powerful and enlightening and presents from a perspective that you might not agree with but I hope you can respect and maybe even appreciate:
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2011/11/21/how-modesty-made-me-fat
Hey Ken,
I think you perhaps you were thinking that Lauren wrote this (as opposed to Stacey). I went ahead and forwarded her your comment so she can reply to the parts that she could address. I thought I would respond by saying that I think we all understand that sidewalk counseling is the last line of defense. Usually it is reaching ears that have already grown cold to the wisdom of God, which is clear by how very many men and women just walk past us and even mock us. And yet, I wish that there were people that would have stood in front of the gas chambers in Nazi Germany and begged the Nazis not to go through with it. Would it have been very effective? I doubt it, but the Jews that died there deserved the defending.
Regarding sex education, Christians do believe in that. I was taught about sex as a child and I have started (though usually indirectly) to address these issues with my children (3 is a bit young for direct conversation about sex). I was taught that God cares about everything that I do, including how I use my sexuality. I was taught that God gave sex to us as a kind and beautiful gift, and also placed boundaries on its use. I was taught that rape was wrong and I should not rape. I was taught that child molestation was wrong and I should not molest children. And I was taught that sex outside of marriage was wrong and I should not have sex outside of marriage. My parents were faithful to teach me wisdom, even about sex, from a young age. And their training was effective. I was a virgin on my wedding day (Stacey too) and never was on a sidewalk heading in to an abortion clinic because of faithful sex education. But the important thing is that it was sex education that focused on God and what God wants, not me and what I want.
This gets to the heart of the article you linked here as well. The problem that occurred in this young woman’s life was not that she was taught modesty. The problem was she was taught a modesty that focused on her and on men. The verse she should have been taught is:
The main purpose of modesty is not to keep men from lusting (though that is a purpose) it is to point attention away from women and to God. That is why this passage says that they should adorn themselves with good works. Wearing immodest clothing draws attention to women and to their bodies, attention they do not deserve. Men and women should not draw attention to themselves, but to God. This is the modesty I am teaching my daughters. Very different from what is depicted in this article.
I am praying for you today Ken.
Dave
Oh shoot! I did mix up the last two post! I am so sorry. I got caught up in my responses here and brought in the sermon from Lauren’s post into Stacey’s.
I apologize for that.
But please, Mrs. Stacey, do not let that detract from the power I feel in your post here.
Dave – I appreciate your taking the time to input here, but honestly, I kind of already knew all of that about you and your thinking. I am more interested in Stacey’s (and Lauren’s) take on the article I posted. But thanks for the prayers. Positive energy directed in my vicinity is always welcomed.
Hey Ken, this is Stacey. I couldn’t agree more with what Dave said. He said it better than I would have
The only thing I would add is that “fools” hate wisdom whether it is presented on the streets or in the classroom. That is the point of the passage in Proverbs. Even if we had presented these truths to them beforehand they would still reject it, unless they love the Lord.