I Am Sighing and Crying

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I Am Sighing and Crying

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What am I supposed to think and do?

A shameful benchmark came and went yesterday: the 41st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court ruled 7-2 that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion. Since 1973 about 52,000,000 children have been aborted (translation: murdered). This is more than 3,300 deaths per day. These were viable new lives in the womb. They were simply terminated.

I remember back in my high school days in the 1960s when the drug thalidomide caused unborn children's extremities to become deformed. A woman fearing that her baby might be born without fingers and toes could not terminate the baby's life in the United States. In hushed tones it was uttered that in order to have the pregnancy terminated, you had to "go to Sweden." Abortion was an unthinkable, illegal and immoral act.

That has all changed with the Roe v. Wade ruling. A national mindset and great national controversy of pro-life vs. pro-choice has now raged for over four decades.

People get enraged that the killing of an unborn baby can be legal and increasingly shameless. Abortion clinics are picketed and protested, but to no avail. The attitude of pro-choicers only hardens. Those who believe in the sanctity of life and calling abortion murder try through reason and arguing to persuade those who believe in abortion to change their thinking. But it is to no avail.

I also find myself very angry at those who allow and support the cessation of life. Often the conception of the child took place under less than ideal condition and most often in violation of God's commandments of morality. The need for abortion is then a "pragmatic" compounding of an unwanted pregnancy. The abortion then brings on psychological trauma to the mother and family.

But I can't do anything about it. All I can do is express my outrage, but to go beyond that is futily opposing increasing moral sliding. To those sliding it's not even "immoral" as societal values condone and make it acceptable. This slide is irreversible and only draconian actions will cause an awakening to the evil and reversal of heart.

The Old Testament is a cyclical history of Israel forsaking God. Only through national calamity would the nation be brought to repentance. But it would be short lived as historically another cycle of sin and disregard for God's values would follow, only to be changed by a war or national catastrophe.

Much the same is true with our national sins. People in those sins no longer regard them as sins. There is no anchor to godly values. We just see a further drift and people seeking for solutions outside of God and His way of life. It will take another calamity to bring people to their senses.

I feel sadness at what our moral slide has brought. I am greatly saddened that I cannot reason with a hardened heart. I realize that it will take more than words. Israel had to go through massive national catastrophes. Maybe that's what will have to take place for us to learn our lesson as well.

As a spectator, I can only mourn. I along with others am only one who sighs and cries over the abominations of our society. The words of Ezekiel—who decried national sin—wrote the following:

"The Lord said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it'" (Ezekiel 9:3-4).

God loves mankind, but He is intent to allow free moral agency, which includes the testing of alternative lifestyles and values to prove ultimately that His way is the only way that works.

The United Church of God offers many hundreds of articles and study guides on this subject. Please check out our ucg.org website and do a search under "abortion."

 

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Comments

  • Eric V. Snow
    America today is in decline, both moral and economic, but people don't perceive the moral cancer eating away at our nation. Often many sincere but deceived people hail it as moral "progress," including the oxymoron "gay marriage" and the murder of unborn babies covered up by euphemistic terms such as "abortion" and "reproductive rights." The liberal elites like to think that we couldn't possibly be making a moral error as great as slavery was in 1860. Back then, about four million people were held as slaves in America, which by its nature involved an enormous amount of misery and oppression, but normally didn't kill those suffering under the master's lash and the auction block's gavel. But over the past 40 years, we've aborted about 13 times more unborn persons than there were slaves before the Civil War began. We like to think that we've progressed enormously morally as a country, but we're sadly self-deceived. Isaiah condemned ancient Israel for claiming what was evil was good (Isaiah 5:20): "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness." Then, of course, we have all the depressing hallmarks of our family structure's slow disintegration, such as shown by how much higher our rates of divorce and illegitimacy are compared to the 1950's. The media has become much more corrupt in its portrayals of sex and even violence, even when the huge porn industry's influence is discounted. It's sad to think we Christians who live in America may soon mourn over America's fall like Jeremiah did over Jerusalem and Judah's fall in Lamentations 2:11: "My eyes fail because of tears, my spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people." Abortion is surely our worst national sin: May this nation wake up and repent!
  • Carolyn Prater
    I'm so glad you have spoken on this subject, Mr. Kubik! I can relate to, being from about the same time period, where we see that the mere mention of abortion was a shame to all and now into this time where it is accepted and embraced, and is used actually as little more than a form of birth control. Abortion really is worse than just a shame to us all. Thank you for speaking up! It is one of the ways you are doing something about it!
  • Star Child
    Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! All that we the called out ones can do is to cry out against this sadistic practices of this dying society. We have to pray for our children that they do not fall into that pit of destruction. We are truly living in the time spoken off by the prophet Isaiah.
  • GeorgeA
    I really appreciate your hard line against abortion.I could feel your words. I FULLY believe that all abortions on demand and just for birth control and such is clearly of the enemy of mankind. I also grew up in the 60's and I may differ a dab with many that if a woman is clearly diagnosed with today's technology with a severe, very sever deformed fetus and decides on termination during the first trimester, and a Dr. that doesn't make his living performing abortion after abortion, at an 'abortion mill' then I believe the choice is the woman and her husband (if married.) My x wife use to work with a college girl that had 4 abortions just to terminate the baby- such, or anything close to that ought to be a severe crime for the Dr. and woman- Also late term abortions should require very long prison sentences.
  • tangerine17
    You said,"There is no anchor to godly values." -- And that sums up why this continues to happen. But knowing the "why" of the tragedy doesn't stop the hurt of seeing people murder their own children. So sad! At least we know that God will not forget those children, no matter what people do. Thank you for your article.
  • Copperridgemama
    Mr. Kubick, I do so appreciate your comments and the focus the church has had in the past few years, on life. We cannot ignore what is going on in our world and abortion is a great evil. I believe that the church and you are doing what you should do. You should speak out. Hardened hearts are maybe not changing but as God told Habakkuk "write it down and make it plain!" There are some who are listening. I was one of those confused girls who makes bad choices and I aborted my own child when I was just 17 years old. It took years of shame and regret and hiding but I finally came out into the light and asked for God's forgiveness for violating His perfect Law. He is transforming me and I can say wholeheartedly, "I am not the person I used to be!" Because of my experience I have, for the past 12 years, been involved with a pregnancy center. There, I can at least share my experience and my belief in the sanctity of human life and my faith in the Creator God. There is something we can do!! We can speak to whomever might listen. That's what I've been doing these past 12 years. Many have listened and at least they now know that God is The Creator of life and that a baby is his precious creation. They, in turn, spread the word to maybe just one more person. . . and on it goes. I share my story when I can because if it might spare one life, then it did make a difference! Write it down and make it plain. There are some who are listening.
  • Trick James
    Thank you Mr Kubic for your strong outrage against abortion. I have to agree with the contents of this post. I don't know if you are a Pastor but most Pastors that I am aware of preach a lot about the love of Jesus but not about sin and wrong. We need both. I do think there are some actions we can take against abortion. We can support right to life groups with our time and monetary donations. Perhaps because of their education efforts a mother might decide not to kill her unborn baby. We can stand in a picket line with a sign to show support for the unborn. I know I would want someone standing in the gap for me. We can unashamedly be a vocal advocate for the rights of the unborn, both in speech and letter writing. We can support organizations that help mothers who are pregnant and have no support or options. If we personally know of someone in that situation we can do what we can to help them. Just like Habitat for Humanity give them a helping hand not a hand out. Most importantly pour our hearts out to God in prayer to show us what we can do to help the situation. I do feel like you have resigned yourself to the fact that it is bad, there is nothing we can do but wait to Jesus to fix it when He returns to set up His Kingdom. Yes, that is the true and lasting ultimate solution but I don't think that leaves us off the hook. We should do what we can in the here and now to support and encourage mothers who decide not to kill their babies. How sad, so very sad, that the most dangerous place for a baby is in it's mothers womb. Come Lord Jesus.
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