A Pastor’s Perspective

“Silent Voices” by Mike Hill, pastor of Calvary Chapel Aberdeen        

Listen to CALVARY RADIO 90.3 FM (mjhill@ida.net)

      It’s funny how the commercials from the 70’s have remained within my memory bank.  Didn’t I do anything else besides watch TV when I was a kid?  Anyway, remember the jingle, “My bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R…”?  What about, “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”?  And who could forget, “Let’s get Mikey!  Yeah!  He won’t eat it, he hates everything…He likes it!  Hey, Mikey!”  But what about the sultry woman who said in an alluring voice, “If you want to capture someone’s attention—whisper”?  The concept is to speak with a quiet voice to carry out your agenda.  It seems to work in a lot of cases.  After all, Scripture indicates that “soft speech can crush strong opposition” (Proverbs 25:15b NLT).  Tragically, many voices are silenced through political maneuvering.

     Newly confirmed regulatory czar for the United States, Cass Sunstein, scoffs at the idea that unborn children are human.  He insists that human embryos which develop into a baby are “only a handful of cells.”  This type of thinking has crushed the lives of millions of unborn children.  A loud and demanding voice declares, “What about a woman’s right to decide?”  The silent voice whispers, “What about the right of the unborn to live?”  I want to apply the Golden Rule to this situation.  I want to encourage all the people who have an easy time justifying abortion to switch roles.  What if you were the one in the womb?  How would you want to be treated?  I wonder if you would want to desperately yell out, “Hey!  I’m alive!  I’m not just a bunch of lifeless cells!  Please don’t kill me!”  But no one listens.  I suspect you would at least want someone to speak up for you—to plead your case.  The Bible instructs, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing” (Proverbs 31:8 NLT).  I choose to speak up for the silent voices in the womb.    

     God’s Word portrays a celebration of life within the womb.  David gushes in awe to God as he contemplates, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:13-16 NLT).  David’s perspective from the womb is pro-life.  And so is God’s.  God’s Word speaks up for the silent voices and so will I.  Will you?