My Body, My Choice? Or God’s Child, His Choice

A Deeper Look at the Abortion Issue as Kansans Head to the Polls 

As my neighboring Kansans head to the polls today to vote on the “Value Them Both” amendment, the first constitutional amendment since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade throwing the issue of abortion back to the states, I propose we take a closer look at the “my body my choice” mantra that so many are basing their vote on regarding abortion.

From God’s perspective the issue of abortion is not about the rights of the baby over the rights of the woman. With good reason, these are the issues that get the most attention during the campaigns on the issues of abortion. However, the primary issue regarding abortion, and all other hotly debated issues, is much more foundational and almost always overlooked. Let’s adjust our view and put things more into focus from Our Creator’s perspective.

Four thousand years ago, give or take a few years, our Creator gave us a clear and concise set of ten specific guidelines written on stone tablets to order our lives and to set the stage for us to live together in harmony.

When most think of the issue of abortion in the eyes of God, people first think to the Fifth Commandment which pertains to the sacredness of human life…“You shall not kill.” One would think that this specific Commandment issued by the ultimate authority would end the discussion, but the controversy rages on with arguably more passion and division than any other issue in history.

With such a clear instruction to not kill from the God who designed and created everything, why hasn’t this issue been resolved? I propose this issue hasn’t been resolved because the underlying Commandment, upon which all the Commandments rest, is being ignored—The First Commandment. Let’s dive deeper into this in order to understand and put things into God’s perspective.

I know from experience, and from talking to many others, that the First Commandment, “I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me.” is the most overlooked Commandment. Yet, because it is the foundation upon which all the other commandments rest, it is THE most important Commandment. Most people skip right past it and don’t realize that it is the Commandment that establishes the context for all life, and is the context for understanding the purpose of all the Commandments. This First Commandment lays the foundation to appreciate the love of God and the wisdom He incorporated in each and every Commandment.

Unfortunately, since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, our natural focus has been on ourselves which makes it the most difficult for us to get right— and keep right—during a lifetime. It stems from selfishness and doing it “my way” as the old Sinatra song used to say. Instead of putting the One True God first and foremost in our lives, we put ourselves as “Number One,” and when we remove God as the source and purpose of life and replace Him with our self, the entire perception of the Commandments is turned upside down.

With this First Commandments turned upside down, all the other Commandments follow suit and the Commandments are reversed.

With this mindset the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal.”…becomes, “Stealing helps me have more. Therefore, stealing is OK and even a good thing … as long as I don’t get caught.”

The Third Commandment, “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day,” gets in the way of spending the day doing what I want, such as a home remodeling or gardening project, sleeping late, or watching sports, instead of worshiping God in church, and then spending time enjoying and nurturing relationships with family and friends. God gave us this day to refresh our souls and our bodies in order to handle the other six days of the week. It’s a day to recharge our spiritual battery.

With ourselves as Number One, the Sixth Commandment “You shall not commit adultery,” has become, “It is my right to have sex whenever I want and with whom I want.”

With all these Commandments turned on their head, it becomes natural that the Commandment, “Thou shall not kill”, becomes “Thou shall not kill what I want out of life. Don’t kill my right to my body. Don’t kill my right to choose to have the career, the house, the car, the fun I want instead of being confined to being a father or mother.” And the list goes on.

In today’s “Me” culture, it is easy to get caught up in what we want and overlook that God has a better plan. A much better plan. His plan is a plan for life and true joy and fulfillment. Not just for the life of an unborn child, but a life of abundant joy and the authentic freedom to choose life for everyone—the life of the mother, the father, and the children. When we look at the life of Jesus, it is apparent that human life, our life and our happiness in life, is His primary purpose. This is evident through His selfless gift of His life on the cross to save what is most precious. Our life! And, He makes it clear when he says in John 10:10, “I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly,” that for us to have abundant life is His primary purpose. He put us first in His life to show us how to put Him first in our life.

The First Commandment provides the correct context for everything else to go as designed. When we order our lives the way He intended and as laid out by the Commandments, it becomes easy to see that the gift of human life is sacred and holy, and created in the image and likeness of God—to be honored and revered,—protected and valued, just as important as the mother to whom it has been given.

Therefore, as Kansans head to the polls today voting on the issue of abortion, don’t overlook the most important underlying questions. “Who should I put first in my life? My body, my choice? Or God’s child, His choice?”  

To dive deeper in your knowledge of learning and living the 10 Commandments on a daily basis in order to experience true joy and freedom, visit our 10 Commandments Page that corresponds to each of the 10 Commandments.