Can anyone imagine Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. blowing up an abortion clinic? Please think about this; a statesman and a preacher, both were professed African American (or Negros in their day) Christians. These two men lived in different eras, they did not share common vocations, and yet many would agree that they delivered their inspiring and uplifting messages with dignity and courage. When you heard them speak, you didn’t want to destroy life, you wanted to pursue life, liberty and happiness.
I’m asking this question about Douglass and King because for some reason, the prolife community is often perceived to be a bunch of kooks who go around blowing up abortion mills and baby killing centers. In all actuality, the first people known to blow up an abortion mill were Black Panthers in the 20th century. They considered abortion to be a genocidal threat to the Black community, and attempted to curtail the scourge. Again, I am not advocating their choice of methods.
These types of misconceptions, that prolife people are violent should be corrected. For the most part, members of the Prolife Movement are nonviolent. There are, however various discrepancies regarding messaging and methods among the various branches of the Prolife Movement. Sometimes, these issues create tension that could generally be avoided if we could only learn and follow the rules of the game and stay in our own lane.
There is a process that many sane people regard. This process can be identified as “knowing how to drive, following the rules, and staying in your lane.” When people are taught to drive, they learn that both respect and courtesy for the other drivers are very important if one wishes to stay alive while driving. Generally, people who drive on the roads of life are not usually going the same place, even if they are sometimes driving in the same direction. Yet, the common goal is generally a desire to get where one is going safely and on time.
These same principles should be regarded in any movement, especially the Prolife Movement. For example, I am post abortive, and am a strong supporter of speaking out regarding the harms of abortion and also advocating post abortion healing. I do however have some friends who feel that it is more important to teach women to remain abstinent or celibate until they are ready to become mothers. I happen to agree that abstinence is a major strategy in the prolife message and choose not to contend with those who have a predominately abstinence ministry. In other words, it would not be in my lane to ask them to stop delivering their abstinence message and do a post abortion healing message because that is more important. Both messages are important.
Staying in our lanes helps all the bases to be covered. Some will do voter registration. Good! Some will write letters to Congress. Good! Some will pray at abortion mills. Good! Some will operate pregnancy care centers. Good! Some will file necessary law suits! Some will donate diapers, milk, clothes, booties, etc. Good! All of us can pray, and all of us can donate time and money to the cause! Did I miss your lane? Is there some contribution you are making that isn’t covered here? Please let me know! Your work is very important, and we need to know you!
The main thing is, on God’s highway, the sanctity of life has drivers in all lanes and therefore the bases are covered! Let us be mindful to be supportive in prayer, respectful in serving and courteous when we have differing opinions and methods. There are no big I’s and little You’s in God’s kingdom after all.
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