What's the deal with Christians and abortion? Part 3
Here’s my final issue with the abortion debate. Jesus NEVER once tells us we need to legislate our beliefs. In fact, he seemed to be pretty passive about government in general, saying, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's” in Luke 20:25.
In John 18:36 he says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Jesus had no time for government or policies or kingdoms because his job was not to reform the current government, but to replace it with the kingdom of God. Jesus never once told us to legislate our morality or make others follow our rules, but you know what he does tell us to do?
He tells us to love our enemies.
"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:44
He tells us to take care of widows, orphans.
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Isaiah 1:17
He tells us to welcome immigrants.
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt." Exodus 22:21
He tell us to feed the hungry and clothe the poor.
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me." Matthew 25:35
He tells us to tell others about him and make disciples!
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19
Yes, abortion is bad. It’s a terrible thing that happens. But so is ignoring widows and orphans. So is hating immigrants. So is turning a blind eye to the poor (or worse, saying it's their own fault for not working hard enough). But THOSE are the things Jesus tell us to focus on, not changing the government to fit our belief system. In fact, he's probably pretty horrified that any of us are THIS involved in our government but spend so much of our time ignoring those in need.
Here's what else I don't understand, why are we trying to force others to see things our way without giving them the backstory? We have to tell people about Jesus before we expect them to want to follow our “rules.”
It’s like playing a game of Monopoly with someone who’s never heard of it and not telling them the
rules, but every time they pass Park Place you yell "Give me $500!" They have no idea why they're being punished or what they've done wrong. Yes, those are the "rules," but if you haven't explained it to them they have no way of knowing what's happening and you just end up looking like a jerk.
So rather than trying to make other people live by our rules, why not do what Jesus asks us to, and just love them?
And you know what? If we love them enough, maybe, just maybe, they'll want to follow Jesus' "rules" on their own.