Should a Christian be Politically Correct?
First, let’s start with the definition of politically correct. The simple definition of politically correct is agreeing with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people. The full definition is conforming to a belief that language practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in sex or race) should be eliminated. I know everyone reading this can agree that the full definition is true! In 1793, the term “politically correct” first appeared in a U.S. Supreme Court judgment of a political lawsuit. William Safire states that the first recorded use of the term in the modern sense is by Toni Cade in the 1970 anthology The Black Woman. The term probably entered use in the United Kingdom around 1975.
Now let’s talk about that first definition. The part ‘could offend a particular group of people’ sticks out to me. That is a very gray statement. What offends you and what offends me could be the same thing or it could be a very different thing. I came across an article titled ‘Seeing Happy Down Syndrome Kids Could Offend Women Who Have Had Abortions’. This happened in France. According to the article, “A French court has drawn international backlash for ruling that a popular video showing happy children with Down syndrome was ‘inappropriate’ for French television.” The video was made to encourage expectant mothers who found out their child had tested positive for Down syndrome. This video was to show mothers that were considering aborting the child over the diagnosis that the baby would still grow up happy. It was to help put their minds at ease and reassure them. Any mother who has ever heard that their baby may be different somehow or afflicted with health issues knows how scary that can be. That does not mean that all have considered abortion, but some have. That’s okay. For some, they have always thought that they had a choice whether or not to have a baby after the baby has been conceived. Furthermore, having a child at all can be scary and adding on things like health issues and the social misunderstandings about special needs children is a downright terrifying idea for most potential mothers. However, this video, this wonderful idea to help expecting mothers was deemed potentially offensive to mothers who went through with the abortion. It was not politically correct, so it was been banned.
We, as followers of Christ, should not try to offend anyone. With this being said, our very beliefs are offensive. One of the foundations of Christianity is the Ten Commandments. These rules are to help us in our walk with God and Christ, and help us in dealing with mankind. Let’s look at one that should be simple. The Sixth Commandment in Exodus 20:13 says, “Thou shall not murder.” Sounds plain and simple, right? Apparently not. As we read above, despite the fact that abortion is murder, so many still do it or even approve of it. These people say that taking a life because it will interfere with theirs is okay. They don’t want a child that could have special needs; it would be too hard on them or merciful to the child. An investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting published in the Boston Globe that “likely hundreds of women are aborting fetuses based on this new generation of testing. One company reported a 6.2 percent abortion rate based on the screening results alone – and without any further testing, there is no way to know how many of those may have been due to a false positive.”
Yet even with the above information, we hear it all the time. Even in the Churches of God we have a few people that believe aborting children produced from rape is okay. Some hold that if the mother’s life is in danger it is okay. The truth is that only 5% (out of about 32,000 women each year) of rape or sexual assault victims get pregnant. Of that 32,000, less than 1% chose to abort the child over the fact of sexual assault while about 12% decided to abort for other reasons. 85% of these mothers decide to carry through with the pregnancy and have the baby. Of that 85%, about 6% decide to give up the child for adoption. We are told to fully support the mother and her choice. That would be all well and good until you hear that a whopping 43% of these women say that they felt pressure to abort from family or health care workers. That is almost half! And that is not supporting the mother or her choice. Meanwhile, saying anything to the family or health care workers about supporting the mother to have the baby is not P.C. They say that is punishing the women for something they did not want, for their assaulter’s crime. The facts are that most of the 85% that choose life fall in love with the baby in ultrasounds or once the baby is their arms. Even if the baby is aborted, they will still have the memories of the assault on top of having to live the rest of their lives with knowing they chose to end a life and that sticks with them. I know this from having a friend that “chose the easy way out.” She deals with the anniversary of the rape and of the abortion every year. She even had one abortion about two years later because she felt that she could not be a good mother with all of her mental issues and anxieties from initial events. Thanks be to God that she now has a child and is doing well.
I know that I have gone on about abortion, but it is a hot topic and very relevant in today’s society. We have other issues that are just as important like homosexuality, laziness, entitlement, parenting, and so on. Once people know that we support traditional marriage, not living off the government and working for what you have, discipline, and morality we are told how we are an intolerant people. We are made to be like members of the KKK or other groups founded on hate. The difference is we are not to hate the person; we are to love even when we don’t agree with their actions. Gandhi is the one who said, “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” but the bible talks about how we, by sinning, separate ourselves from God. Isaiah 59:2 “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” We know that sin is the transgression of the law and that is just one reason we should not sin.
So back to the question: should a Christian be politically correct? The short answer is, no. The longer answer is still no; we should not strain to be P.C., but we should also speak in love. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We do have an understanding that others do not. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death, but that the gift of God is that we will have eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord. These people who try to make us politically correct, who want us to tolerate and approve of their sin, do not understand that there is a God or refuse to get to know Him. They want to live life without rules or limits. These are the people to whom we are to be a light, for whom we should pray. John 8:12 says, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’” It is not always easy to be that light, but with God’s help we can. Either in this life or after the End Days, these will have a chance to know that there is a God and that He loves them. We were called out of darkness and one day they may be as well. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew froth the praises of him who hath called you called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;”