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TAMMY AND TOMMY: THE ENEMY IS AN IDEAMark Owens1. GOOD SAMARITAN AND EUTHANASIA? A few weeks back we celebrated the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.... And perhaps you're wondering what the parable of the Good Samaritan has to do with abortion and euthanasia.... after all, that's what we are supposed to talk about on a Sunday dedicated to the sanctity of life... But you know, there is another issue here that is easily overshadowed by the emotionally charged "pro-life" agenda. And in the midst of the rhetoric we can lose sight of the fact that the enemy is not a procedure. The enemy is an idea..... (better yet, an ideology...) 2. LIFE IS CHEAP AROUND THE WORLD, AND IN AMERICA TOO! You see, America in the new millennium honestly believes that life is cheap. And this idea has left in its wake not only the tragic deaths of the countless unborn.... not only has it brought the grim spectre of "death with dignity".... It has truly reduced this once proud nation to nothing more than a multitude of the walking wounded, because according to the statistics, there is not one person in America today who has not been negatively affected by this poisonous idea- life is cheap..... And the tragic reality of the matter is..... there is nothing new about this idea.... 3. THE BIBLE'S VOICE IS LOUD AND CLEAR The good news is, the Bible is not silent on the issue of the sanctity of human life.... In fact, I believe that this parable deals with just this issue in a very direct and simple way.... And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Luke 10:25 4. BEGIN WITH A BASIC QUESTION As with all parables, we begin by asking ourselves three basic questions:
5. AUDIENCE, OCCASION, AND PASSAGE The audience is simple, Jesus is talking with a certain lawyer..... The occasion is simple, this lawyer is testing Jesus with a question..... The context is a bit more complicated.... and to understand it we have to go backwards a bit.... In the preceding passage, the 70 have returned with joy having discovered that even the demons are subject to the name of Jesus. And Jesus brings their feet down to earth by reminding them that He has all power... and the only thing they should rejoice in is their own salvation... Then Jesus offers a prayer of thanksgiving because the Father has chosen to reveal Himself to infants instead of the wise and powerful.... and then Jesus declares that the only way anyone knows the Father is if the Son wills it...... From there, the focus moves to the twelve disciples.... 6. WHY ARE PEOPLE SPIRITUALLY BLIND? Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear and have not heard it. Luke 10: 23 - 24 Now remember the lesson of the Sower: Only spiritual eyes and ears can comprehend the truth of God's kingdom..... And Jesus is saying that the disciples have been hand picked by God to know the truth..... But the lawyer.... he doesn't know the truth nor does he recognize who Jesus really is.... So here is a man with extraordinary knowledge, and no spiritual discernment.... And why is he spiritually blind? Because his sin hardened heart will not receive the message.... so that even though he desires to understand the truth, he can't.... it's beyond him.... 7. IS THIS RELEVANT? Question: What does this have to do with the sanctity of human life? You see, the idea that life is cheap is the natural results of a carnal worldview.... And what we find is that this lawyer, for all of his knowledge, was incapable of seeing the world through spiritual eyes..... just like a majority of the population of our country today.... 8. ANIMAL PROTECTION AND HUMAN DESTRUCTION: Do you want to know why unborn sea turtles and unborn eagles are protected in our country while unborn people are not? It's because the majority of the people in America today do not have eyes to see abortion for what it is..... to them it really is just a convenient way to avoid the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy. I can't say it enough. The enemy is not a procedure... it's an idea.... And we need to understand that while education may be a part of the solution, it is not the answer to the problem. Knowledge without truth is meaningless...... The lawyer asks Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" "He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." Luke 10: 26 - 28 9. WE ALL KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER The first thing we need to understand is that this man knew the right answer... I believe that as a people we know the right answer, too. No one would ever be an advocate for murder. Killing people is wrong..... We all know and believe that.... The real problem we have today is that unless you are like us, you aren't really a person.... And once you step onto the slippery slope of devaluation, (that is, once you begin judging the value of people by your own preset standards and then reducing anyone who fails to measure up to a sub-human status) the end of reason is close at hand.... 10. ARE SOME PEOPLE MORE VALUABLE THAN OTHERS? You see, if some people are more valuable than others, then the unborn child of a poor teenaged welfare mother can easily become nothing more than an unwanted fetus. Potentially human but not quite.... If some people are more valuable than others, then the old, sick, unwanted nursing home resident can easily be reduced to something sub-human, after all their quality of life certainly leaves much to be desired..... If some people are more valuable than others, then the dying masses in India, sub-Sahara Africa and many other places around the globe can easily be written off as surplus population, who in the long run are better off dead and we are better off without...... And of course it doesn't stop there..... 11. KILLING ON DEMAND Because if abortion on demand is a fundamental right for the poor, then it is surely the right of the wealthy as well..... If quality of life is the main issue for the aging, and dying with dignity is the fundamental right of all people, then who has the right to say that anyone cannot legally end their own life at any time... and at what point do I have the right to determine the state of your quality of life... And if the unwanted poor from around the world are nothing but surplus population, then how about the unwanted poor across town or next door..... Wouldn't they be better off dead, too? After all, life is cheap..... isn't it? Well, it's not to God..... to Him every man, woman and child is a precious creation.... And the lawyer knew this, because he knew what God had said in the Law..... Again, the question was, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life"? And the answer according to both the Scriptures and the Lord was simple..... Love God and love others..... 12. CALLED TO LOVE GOD Friends, we are called to love God... And we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves..... But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Luke 10:29 In the Peanuts comic strip, Linus once said, "I love humanity, it's people I can't stand." And that's funny to us because we have all felt that way from time to time... at least I have.... Let's face it, some people are hard to love.... And we are all born with a built-in prejudice that says if they don't look like me, if they don't dress like me, if they don't act like me, or talk like me, or think like me.... then they aren't as good or as important as I am.... That's wrong, and it's ugly.... and ultimately, it's tragic and destructive.... and it's something we are all guilty of.... Because rather than facing up to the fact that we don't always have the heart of Christ or the desire of Christ or the will of Christ or the mind of Christ (because we certainly don't always display the love of Christ.......) we seek to justify ourselves..... just like the lawyer..... 13. WHY ACT LIKE LOST PEOPLE? "Who is my neighbor," he asked. And it's here we discover that, although he knew the right answer, he had no idea how to live with it.... He could read the Law of Moses, but not with spiritual eyes.... He could hear the Word of God, but not with spiritual discernment... He was lost in the darkness, blind, deaf and unaware..... and it seems that we are only slightly better off ourselves sometimes.. And if we who are in the light can barely discern the truth, why are we shocked when lost people act like lost people? 14. THE PARABLE OF THE HALF-DEAD Jesus responds with a parable. But we need to understand that the parable isn't really about a Good Samaritan..... it's really about a certain man..... (probably the lawyer) Then Jesus answered and said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again I will repay you. Luke 10: 30 - 35 Now the point of this parable is obvious; the certain man was aided by the most unlikely person..... so who is the neighbor? The one who loves like a neighbor.... and love is demonstrated, not confessed..... So what does this have to do with the sanctity of human life? Well, I don't often do this, but I would like to re-tell the parable in more modern terms.... 15. TAMMY AND TOMMY Tammy was a seventeen year old girl who lived in town. Her parents were never married and she had fallen into a bad crowd. She knew she was on a dangerous path, but she didn't feel like she had too many choices in the matter. She never knew her father, and the one thing she longed for all of her life was the love of a man. Unfortunately, the only role model she ever had was her mother who had a string of live-in boyfriends, most of whom were abusive and unemployed... Tammy met Tommy in high school and she thought he was really nice. They began spending a lot of time together at her house... alone.... one thing led to another, and before the school-year was over, Tammy was pregnant and Tommy had dumped her like a hot potato. She was hurt, overwhelmed and terrified of what her mother would do when she found out, so she decided to keep it a secret..... Just like the man who had traveled a dangerous road alone and had fallen among thieves, Tammy's circumstances and bad decisions had brought her to a point of desperation.... and she was unable to help herself.... Tammy called a local church and left a message on the answering machine... but the pastor, being a busy man and not wanting to get involved in any controversial issues, deleted it without returning her call. She knew one of her teachers was a Christian, so she tried to talk to her about it... But the teacher, being afraid for her job, told her there was nothing she could do, and in fact, just talking with her about it could lead to real trouble. And so she suggested that Tammy see the school nurse..... Tammy was nervous as she walked into the clinic, but as soon as she told the nurse her troubles, the nurse sat down and put her arm around her shoulder, and told her that everything would be fine. She asked if Tammy wanted her mother to know... Tammy being afraid of her mother said, "No." The nice nurse said, "That's no problem." She asked if Tammy wanted to keep the baby. Tammy being hurt and overwhelmed said, "I don't think so..." The nice nurse said, "That's no problem, either....." Within a few days the pregnancy was terminated, the nurse had completed all the paperwork, and all Tammy had to do was live with the scars.... just like the man who fell among thieves and was stripped, beaten and left half dead.... So who was a neighbor to Tammy? You're saying to yourself, "Wait a minute! That story had an unhappy ending!" And it did.... to you an me..... but not to the nurse! She went home that night feeling good about herself because she helped this girl when no one else did..... she had answers and solutions.... she saw a need and she did something about it... she was available and she cared... and whether we like her solution or not.. at least she didn't drop the ball when she had the chance to play..... 16. DO WE HAVE EARS TO HEAR, AND EYES TO SEE? And why should we blame her for offering bad solutions? We are the ones who are supposed to have ears to hear... But we cannot avoid the fact that in the parable it is the religious community that drops the ball.. It is the religious community that fails to make a difference, and it is the Samaritan... the spiritual outsider, who has compassion and demonstrates real love..... 17. THE ENEMY IS NOT A PROCEDURE, THE ENEMY IS AN IDEA! I'll say it again.... the enemy is not a procedure, the enemy is an idea! And if we are going to make a difference we must begin addressing the roots of the problem, not the symptoms.... We can fight the N.O.W. , Planned Parenthood and the ACLU in court from now till doomsday, and all we will do is waste money, time and effort.... It's not the law that needs to be changed, it's the hearts and minds of the American people that need to change..... Where was the church when Tammy was born out of wedlock? Where was the church when Tammy was growing up in an environment of abuse and neglect? Where was the church when Tammy came home from school to an empty house year after year? Where was the church when Tammy desperately needed help with a life and death decision? I'll tell you.... and it kills me to say it..... but... the local church was so busy entertaining itself that it never even saw the need..... Friends, do you want to put an end to abortion? Then we need to reach the Tammys of this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ before they grow up and get in trouble.... Do you want to see an end to teen suicide? Then we need to reach this generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the grow hopeless and fall into despair.... Do you want to see our national leaders take a strong moral stand
against euthanasia, cloning and other issues where science and ethics
collide? So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?' And he said, "He who showed mercy on him.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise." Luke 10: 36 - 37 18. THE CHALLENGE Here is the challenge.... In this parable there are three key words that we as Christians must take to heart.... Love / Compassion / Mercy. We are called to love the world (and all the people in it...) the same way God loves..... We are called to be moved with the same overwhelming compassion that Jesus was moved with when we see them lost and wandering..... and walking down dangerous roads... We are called to demonstrate the mercy of God... which means we must give what they do not deserve... we must care when it really is all their fault.... we must choose to see not only their sin but the value of their soul.... just like God does.... And we must, absolutely must, go and do..... We must go and seek them out, because they aren't going to come to us on their own... And we must be willing to do whatever it takes to introduce them to the Savior who loves them and who gave Himself for them.... (just like He gave Himself for us...) And I'm not going to lie to you.... it won't be easy... Our hands are bound to get dirty Because we have been given spiritual eyes.. And we must proclaim the good news that life is NOT cheap..... life is precious... And the proof has been displayed on a cross..... the perfect symbol of love / compassion / mercy where Jesus Christ the Lamb of God died so that all who believe in Him may live forever... And how can we, who have experienced the mercy of God first hand... Fail to "Go and do likewise....." *** *** *** SOMETHING IS GREATER THAN WONDERS... A Book Of Poems & Free Verses | LOVE COMES SOFTLY, JANETTE OKE'S MESSAGE OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION | TAMAR: SALVATION FOR ALL, Francine Rivers' Canaanite Woman | THE RIGHT ROAD: AM I ON IT? | HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR Mark Owens E-mail: thirumalai@bethfel.org. Please mark Attention: Mark Owens in the subject line. |