Hi all,
The
argument world-wide for abortion is 'a woman's right to choose', and
the argument against it is 'It's a life'. Both sides are right - a woman
has a right to choose what to do with her own body, and it is a human
being growing in her womb. But neither of these arguments go to a deeper
wisdom which all nations and people recognize as true, making the above
arguments lesser truths, and not the real issue. Let us look beyond
these peripheral arguments to the deeper wisdom...
Let's start here...animals and humans
A
man in Texas shot and killed a deer out of season, in English,
poaching, which carries a heavy fine and possible prison term. Initially
he was charged with a single count of poaching, but when the dead doe
was examined it was discovered she carried twins, so the charge was
changed to 3 counts of poaching.
A
woman's home in Fort Myers, Florida was raided by officers and animal
control because she had nearly 100 cats in the home and the smell had
reached the neighbors. Some cats were unhealthy, malnourished, and in an
unsanitary environment not fit for the woman, her teenage daughter, nor
the cats. The woman was charged with animal cruelty, abuse, neglect,
and was handed over to mental health professionals for evaluation and
counseling.
A
man in Colorado regularly beat his chained up dog with a stick in the
evening after he got home from work, taking out frustrations with a job
he hated it was later revealed, on his dog. The neighbors could hear him
yelling and could hear the dog's cries with each thud of the stick. He
was charged with cruelty to animals and other charges.
A
babysitter of a toddler had several charges filed against her after she
decided to invite friends over to the house and party rather than watch
the child, who wandered out the front door, into nearby woods, and was
eventually found dead from exposure to the elements a couple of days
later.
A
school teacher entered into a sexual relationship with 1 of her male
students, and was fired from her job and charged with various charges,
convicted, and sent to prison for at least 10 years.
The topic of abortion
All
these cases ripped from America's headlines have a common thread that
runs through them: Adult human beings are expected to have a sense of
responsibility and live with the responsibility to care for, protect,
and nurture lesser animals, and care for younger human beings in their
charge. In other words, stewardship, which can be defined as: "The
careful and responsible management of something or someone entrusted to
one's care." Each person above had a free will to do what they did, but
in doing so violated a deeper law which is stewardship.
This
is the deeper wisdom - being a human being, the highest form of life on
the planet, carries with it a responsibility to properly manage animals
and human beings with lesser maturity or ability as compared to a
healthy adult in their care - whether that be and animal, a child,
handicapped person, or the sick and injured.
Whether
unbelievers acknowledge scripture or not, the first instruction given
by the Lord to Adam had to do with being a steward over the whole
planet, plants and animals included. Once that Prime Directive was
given, all the animals and birds were brought by Adam to see what he
would name them. Jewish writings and tradition state that Adam had all
knowledge of the natural world and passed that on to Seth and Enoch.
(Genesis 1:26-31, 2: 19-20, Josephus, etc)
This
inborn sense of stewardship is recognized across nations, across
cultures. But God took a risk when He delegated the care of the planet
to man - a steward has the freedom to abuse the responsibility given.
The difference between a right and ability
A
father loans his car to his teenage son, and the son burns thousands of
miles/kilometers of rubber off the tires showing off for his
friends, who spill food and drink inside the car - that is abuse of
stewardship.
A
man loans his lawn mower to a friend, and the friend returns a beaten
up, dirty mower that needs repair - that is abuse of stewardship.
A man poaches a pregnant deer - abuse of stewardship.
A woman gathers cats beyond her ability to care for them - abuse of stewardship.
A man beats his dog due to frustrations at his work - abuse of stewardship.
A babysitter distracted with a party causing a child's death - abuse of stewardship.
A teacher entering into a sexual relationship with a student - abuse of stewardship.
Each person has the free-will ability to abuse their stewardship, but they do not have the right
to do so. That is because stewardship is recognized as a deeper truth
than a person's right to abuse that stewardship. To say it another way,
the deeper truth of stewardship takes away one's right to act
independently of that responsibility.
For
instance - a Trustee watching over an old man's estate as the man
declines in the ability to handle his own finances, has the
responsibility to be a good steward and with that responsibility of
stewardship comes the understanding he has no right to use that money
for himself. Stewardship takes away one's right to act on one's own. But
it doesn't change the free will ability of the person to abuse their
stewardship.
How does God view an unborn baby?
Let
me set the stage: In Exodus 21:22-25 God is explaining His laws, so
He is giving a hypothetical situation about 2 men fighting, and a
pregnant woman witnessing the fight becomes injured as a by-stander:
"If
men fight and hurt a woman with child to the extent she has a
miscarriage, and yet there was no attempted rape or assault, he will
certainly be punished according to what charges the woman's husband
wants to press and what the judges shall determine. However, if it was
an attempted rape or assault then he will give life for life, eye for
eye, tooth for tooth..."
In
our terms this is the difference between an accident that results in a
death, accidental manslaughter, which in this case carries a fine and/or
other punishment, and the murder of the unborn child if that mother
miscarried as a result of being physically and sexually attacked.
Free will is a two-edge sword
Free
will always have consequences, some intended, some unintended. Thus
free will was designed to function with constraints - a hunter has the
free will to hunt, but with constraints outlined by a hunting season. To
elevate one's free will above the responsibilities of stewardship can
land the hunter in prison.
A
woman has the free will to do what she wishes with her body, including
at least in much of the west, to forfeit rightful stewardship of the
amazing gift of a child growing within her, but there are consequences.
It
does no good to tell an unbeliever this scripture for they don't
recognize God's authority, so the arguments swirl around lesser truths -
a woman's right to determine what she does with her body, and it is a
baby in her womb - but neither of these are deep arguments. Neither
addresses the deeper truth that we are stewards of the planet, stewards
of lesser forms of life, stewards of our own bodies. A person has the
ability to be a good steward, or abuse that stewardship of that which
is in their charge.
When
a society and culture reject their responsibility of personal
stewardship we end up with laws that protect unborn deer yet legalize
the murder of unborn children.
New subject next week, as I said, random thoughts submitted for your consideration...until then, blessings!
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
New CD/MP3 Series
Angels & Demons III: Angels in Our Midst
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This
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