The Myth of Life

There are many people who say they are "pro-life." What does that mean? 90% of the time, it means that the person fights for the life of a fetus inside a woman's womb. As a former fetus myself, I am deeply glad that my mother was, in these terms, "pro-life." However, I must question such a grandiose moniker being place on merely making sure women carry their babies to full-term. That is not really "pro-life"... it is pro-birth. And, don't get me wrong, I am pro-birth. But, pro-life is something completely different.

A dear friend of mine wrote a song with a line that says, "Just because I'm breathing doesn't mean I living life." Therefore, we must define life.

Is life the ability for blood to pump, air to breathe, or food to digest? Is life merely the things that happen from birth until death? Is life the quality of animate objects? Is the life the sequence of events (spiritual, physical, and mental) that hold existence together? Or, is life something much deeper?

I am pro-life, but I must define what I mean by that statement.

• I am pro- "best possible home life." Many children are born into homes where they have no hope before they began. They are born to homes without fathers. And, they are born into families with histories of violence. This must be corrected.
• I am pro- "affordable cost of living." So many people are bogged down by home prices, gas prices, and keeping up with those around them. From this, they cannot live. They can only work to keep up.
  
• I am pro- "affordable health care." Many people could not afford the medical expenses for birth, dental work, or check ups. Then, they get chewed out for thinking they could skirt one. That is not right.
• I am pro- "anti-war." There is an irony in the fact that we care that babies get born, but we want to throw those babies 18 years later into the War Machine to die.
• I am pro- "agent of death control." What good is it that we convinced a mother to have her child if that child has no father, joins a gang, and picks up a knife, gun, or drugs to kill someone or himself?
  
• I am pro- "community assistance." Yes, people take advantage of programs. But, everyday, I see families who are struggling to feed, clothe, and shelter their little ones and themselves. I refuse to throw the program out because of scheming people.
  
• I am pro- "targeted education." All people need to learn. Some students are in a cycle that, statistics say, they will never get out. People need skills and teachers who are patient and loving.
• I am pro- "trans-global relations and international peaceful discussion." The world is "everyone vs. us" until we recognize that we are all one. I have friends in 20 different countries around the world right now. There is no "us", and there is no "them" anymore.
• I am pro- "birth." As I have just mentioned, I believe in all life. I believe that babies should be brought into the world, but I believe it is our job to make the world livable for them. I struggle thinking about babies being born with handicaps, to fatherless homes, into the cycle of crime and poverty, or victims of a rape case.
  
• I am pro- "life." The life of the baby, the life of the mother, the life of the father, the life of the grandparents, the life of the surrounding neighborhood, the life of the state, and the life of the religious community.
  

Life is more than blood, breath, and excrement. True life is found in believing that ALL life is valuable. From the baby being born to the crippled old man dying... From the high school senior with an attitude problem to the kindergarten child with his hands on his first diploma... From the American born solider to the Iraqi born Muslim... From the African American who suffered the full brunt of segregation to the white middle-class teenager has never seen such horrors... From our best friends to our worst enemies... ALL LIFE IS VALUABLE. And, it should be treated as such.

True life is living a life of love, service, humility, and sacrifice. True life is looking at every person as the image of God that they are. True life is not found by fighting for birth but by being peaceful until death. True life is experienced now and continues forever. It has little to do with clothes, food, drink, air, or blood. It has everything to do with relationship, attitude, knowledge, and passion. True life is found, modeled, and experienced through Jesus.