"Darkness can not drive out darkness,only light
can do that.Hate can not drive out hate,only love
can do that."Martin Luther King Jr.



                                   No Respect For Life


After a shooting at a Long Beach California hospital, the local police chief was quoted as saying“This is a trend of active shooters that you have seen nationwide. This is becoming a national trend, probably because of the tension that’s going on in our society today.” Well, you don’t have to be much of a history buff to know that this is certainly not the first time this country has come upon hard times. Ever heard of the Great Depression? Yes there was a violent element in society back then, but it was a small minority making the headlines because it was so shocking.

When was the last time you read about a senseless act of violence? Probably yesterday, but it’s become so common place you didn’t even pay attention to it. When I’m ministering at the prison I visit once a month, we never ask anyone how long they’ve been in or what they’ve done, because we all know there are people who have done crimes we would have a hard time dealing with. But during a short break in our prayer group, one of the men volunteered that he was finally getting out after 26 years. Out of curiosity, I asked him what the biggest change he’d seen in the prison. He didn’t even stop to think before saying “The number of young guys, guys in their early 20's who are doing life sentences.”

That really surprised me, but should it have? After all we kill over 3,000 babies a day by abortion, why should people growing up in such a society to have any respect for life? And yes, it is a life. I know someone who volunteers at Planned Parenthood, so I’ve heard 1,ooo times that it’s just a blob of tissue until it is viable outside the womb. I’m something of a history buff, especially American history, and I have a favorite story about Abraham Lincoln. During a debate he asked his opponent “How many legs would a dog have if you called the tail a leg?” The man responded “Five”. Mr Lincoln said “Four. Calling the tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” Neither does calling a fetus a blob of tissue make it any less a child.

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

But we also can not forget that Christ died for every life, that means the life of Dr Tiller,  as well as a fetus, and nothing can make the murder of either one acceptable. We as sinful humans have a way of excusing things we should not, because of motives. But God will not be mocked by our opinion. A story is told about Babe Ruth the famous baseball player for the New York Yankees. After being called out on strikes, Ruth screamed at the umpire “There are 40,000 people here who know that was a ball.” To which the ump calmly responded “Maybe so, but mine is the only opinion that counts.” Any time someone commits murder, we can excuse it anyway we wish. But God’s opinion is the only one that counts.

Copyright Mike Noller