Choosing Sides

Both of my parents passed their love of reading to me. My mother let me read one of her favorite books when I was younger, Daddy Long Legs. I can’t even tell you how many times I have read that book. The spine was cracked, the pages yellowed, and the front cover creased, but I didn’t care. I read it again anyway. I loved it because of the drawings and the way it was written in letters. It wasn’t until I was an older teenager reading it that I noticed the ending. I was delighted by the ending but stunned that I’d missed out on it for so long. The whole point of the book had gone unnoticed by me for years.

I was studying my Bible the other day, when I noticed part of a verse that I’d never noticed before. Have you ever done that? In the last part of the first chapter of Romans, we read of God’s wrath against ungodliness. Many sins are listed and condemned, and we are told that “those who practice such things are worthy of death”. What jumped off the page was the latter part of Romans 1:32, “but also approve of those who practice them.”

When these popular issues facing today’s society emerge, such as the legality of abortion, divorce/remarriage, and homosexual marriage, I always hear someone say something like, “Now, while I don’t approve of such, I can’t make someone’s choices for her.” It has always seemed to me that such statements are a cop-out and are an attempt to hide our true beliefs. It’s true; we can’t make choices for other people. We do, however, have the opportunity – nay, the responsibility – to stand up and fight against what we know is wrong. Otherwise, we become approving of unrighteousness, and according to Romans 1:32, that is very dangerous ground to tread.

What are you doing to stand up for what is right?