Women are Worth Less

Women are worth less. Shocking. Controversial. True.

According to the U.N. sex-selection has claimed the lives of over 100 million girls worldwide. These numbers are probably very conservative and the problem is even more widespread.

This completely shatters the notion that abortion has much, if anything, to do with the health of the mother. The soaring abortion rates around the world have everything to do with economics and personal convenience – and a lack of moral conscience.

The Word says, But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves (2 Tim 3:1-2). What could be more selfish than abortion for the purpose of convenience or economic gain?

Think about that number: 100 million—and that is not the whole number represented by the abortion holocaust on an annual basis. God certainly will not overlook such sin and rebellion. The major reason for His next coming is to set matters aright. Certainly, the matter of abortion will be one such matter set aright.

I don’t know if we as a people in America have the ability to look beyond ourselves anymore to really address the injustices in society. We have become so individualized in our thinking that we have lost anything like a social conscience. We have declared our independence and live in a nation much unlike Abraham Lincoln’s “of the people, by the people, for the people.” We now declare our independence as a nation, “of the self, by the self, and for the self.”

In this election year the issue of abortion is burning hot on the front burner. I think it has become annoying for some in the family of faith. It is still an issue at the table for most people of faith, but it is becoming more and more a side dish and not the main course of discourse. I think this is the natural outcome of a nation becoming more and more self-centered. We know what we want – and we want it now!

Apparently, few are acknowledging the consequences of such self-centeredness. We are experiencing a “new holocaust” and giving about as much attention to it as did those in the early days of Hitler’s Germany. They have not yet come for me.

Raise Up a Standard

We face challenging days and critical choices in America. The two offerings for potential president could not be more different from one another. One staunchly defends the right to life for a human from the moment of conception. The other just as staunchly defends the right of parents, medical professionals and others to allow a baby to die outside the womb through neglect and exposure.

For a Christian, the choice could not be clearer. It is not, as many have framed the debate, a choice between the lesser of two evils. It is a clear choice between good and evil. It has really been this clear for many years since Roe v. Wade made abortion popular; but it is becoming more distinct as the culture of death encroaches more and more on the common mindset of Americans.

Christians must take a stand. Christians must be the “standard-bearers” – the first to march onto a battlefield – in the cultural war. Nothing less than the sanctity of life is at stake.

The state of ancient Israel as described by Isaiah in the 59th chapter of the book bearing his name parallels the state of America today. Justice cannot be found. Men stumble along blindly having discarded the clear, absolute truth of God as revealed in His word. Isaiah summarizes the situation thusly, “Our transgressions are multiplied and our sins testify against us” (verse 12).

The bar of virtue has been lowered so many times through so much debate that there hardly exists any standard of righteousness at all in America. “Truth is lacking” Isaiah bemoans (verse 15). And God sees that He has been left without a witness (verse 16). Such are the days in which we live. Such are the conditions that define the crossroads facing our nation in this next election.

What should be the voice of God’s people in this situation? It is clear. The church must raise up a standard (ensign, flag, banner) identifying clearly where truth and justice and righteousness can be found. The Bible declares, “When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19, NKJV).

As Christians, let us fly our banner high in these times. Not the flag of compromise heralded by the trumpet of an uncertain sound. These days require a clear, clarion sound to call our nation back to justice and truth. In this election like perhaps no other in recent history, the polling place must become an altar. Our vote must become a prayer.

Installation Failure

The other day I was trying to download a new anti-virus software. The process was going along without a hitch and then near the end of the process I received a message that the “installation failed.”

Apparently, the anti-virus software I wanted to install was incompatible with the old version I had – which I found is usually the case. I could not “put on” the new software until I “took off” the old software.

Here’s the spiritual lesson. Many people try to download new Christian habits without removing the habits from their old life (life prior to becoming a believer). It seems that this will work at first. Bar-hopping weekdays (worldly habits) and Bible study on Sundays (to use an extreme example for emphasis) appears to go off without a hitch -- at least for a while.

Soon, fewer and fewer times are spent in Bible reading, prayer, fellowship and other matters. Bar-hopping snuffs out spiritual growth. The installation of new wholesome habits fails.

The Bible says that in order to “put on” new habits of faith one must “put off” (lay aside) the old way of walking in “futility” and “falsehood” (Ephesians 4:17-25). The old habits of one’s pre-Christian life are completely incompatible with the wholesome habits of Christianity. Trying to put on the new without removing the old will cause an “installation failure.”

To become a fully functioning follower of Christ one must practice continuous and honest self-evaluation. A great help in this venture will be a small group experience where you are able to give and receive correction in accordance with God's Word, under the guidance of a called and anointed pastor, and in the security of others who love you and want the best for you. This small group will help you "unlearn" the bad habits you have developed over time.

As someone wiser than I once said, “Becoming a devoted follower of Jesus Christ is as much about what we unlearn as it is what we learn.”