EDITOR’S NOTE: Timothy Faber serves as legislative liaison for the Missouri Baptist Convention
Ancient Rome was a wretched place. They made sport of people being devoured by wild beasts and cheered as gladiators fought in the arenas. They also had a practice called “exposure” – taking an unwanted newborn to the dump and leaving them exposed to the elements and the rodents. Infanticide. But in the first century AD the church was accused of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6). In time, the influence of the church led to such a shift in the cultural mindset that gladiatorial “games” were outlawed and exposure of infants ceased.
Some people might think that fighting for life is a political issue. But would we say that putting a stop to gladiatorial games was political, or moral? Was ending the practice of abandoning infants at the dump a political decision or a moral one?
There was a time in the history of our own nation when many considered slavery to be a political issue. But many others saw it for what it is – a moral issue. Political issues are often settled with compromise, but moral issues demand clarity and conviction and complete resolve. As a political issue, slavery survived for many years under a volley of compromises, including the Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854). While it is possible to be ambivalent about political issues, it is not possible – especially for followers of Christ – to be anything less than passionate about moral issues. It wasn’t until passionate men of conviction stood on moral ground and devoted themselves to ending that great atrocity that slavery finally ended in America.
We need passionate men and women of conviction in our day to stand and proclaim the sanctity of all human life as a moral issue, as a matter of basic human dignity, and to fight the good fight, even if that battle is to be fought in the political arena.
Though many have an attitude that morality cannot be legislated, it is also true that legislation can be used to restrain the lack of morality. God has ordained government for punishing evil and rewarding good (I Peter 2:14). It is the role of political engagement to make sure that wickedness does not increase.
But the very concepts of good and evil, of wickedness and righteousness are moral concepts not political ones. And how shall government know what is good and what is evil if the people of God are silent on moral issues? It is incumbent upon the church to speak truth, to speak righteousness, to boldly proclaim what is good and right, in order to influence those who make laws that we live under. Proverbs 31 approaches justice and morality in a way that supersedes any political aspects. “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy” (Prov 31.8-9).
In defending the rights of the afflicted and needy it is important also to address the needs of the mothers who feel that abortion is their best option. In contemporary society many young mothers are facing the prospect of raising their child alone. Let us love them to the extent that they are more confident to embark on the amazing journey of nurturing new life.