There were a couple of links that drew significant interest this week from Monday’s post. Here is the first, regarding a surprising a statistic about abortion.
The majority of women who have an abortion . . .
Here are some of my thoughts:
1. Are you surprised by this?
I certainly am. I never in a million years would have guessed this to be true. When I think of abortion, I usually think of the young expectant mom in a panic making a bad decision to get out of another bad decision. If there is not an element of surprise in this for you, I’d sure love to hear how you’re approaching the issue – it would be helpful.
2. Money is a really powerful factor.
We will see this more and more as the years progress, but think about the current landscape. Politics are really all about money. Money and debt seem like they’re daily headlines somewhere around the globe. Current issues to be decided in November have money at their core. In a recession, what are people worried about? MONEY. So, to hear that women (and agreeing husbands) are killing unborn children in order to save money, while terrible, is not a shock.
3. If you are a Christian, do your values challenge you when it matters?
If you’re claiming to follow Jesus, the Bible is clear that certain values will follow. Do you value life? Do you value God’s Word? Would you have an abortion if you didn’t think you could afford having another child? Or, worse yet, would you have an abortion if the thought of another child impeded your ways of living and caused you to sacrifice?
What about matters that don’t involve life and death? Do we make choices based on our faith that cause us to do the right thing when it hurts? If abortion is extreme, what about the challenges that come when faced with the decision to lie, cheat, watch a filthy show or movie, or keep a rumor going? These are sins in God’s eyes as well and we do well not to point the finger too quickly at mothers having abortions to save money.
Romans 12:1-2 challenge believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices. The rest of the chapter describes really challenging ways we can live that out. Will you be challenged today?
IPAD 2 CONTEST: My two year anniversary of writing this blog is coming up. To celebrate, for those who read this blog my wife and I will be giving away an iPad 2. The drawing will be November 7. The contest and rules will be available next Monday October 31. You will have one week to complete a 20 question quiz about the past year of blog entries. Those e-mailing at least 15 correct answers will be entered in a drawing for a new or refurbished iPad 2. Winner will be notified November 7. There will be no restrictions for who can win (other than my wife!). If you don’t prefer the iPad 2, we will help directly pay a bill that would help you out. This contest is nothing more than a challenge to freely give away something I really want. I really hope whoever wins or gets some free help is truly blessed by it!