Proverbs 31: 10-31

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

From this description, I can confidently say that a “Proverbs 31 woman” would never support the taking of a child’s life.  The verses that speak of a “wife of noble character” start at Proverbs 31:10.  Ironically (or not so ironically), in verse 8 Scripture states, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Because of this, you can understand my concern when I found out that the faith based organization “Thirty One Gifts” indirectly supported abortion.  This organization prides itself on helping ladies grow into a “Proverbs 31 woman.”

Phone calls were made, emails were sent…and I wrote a blog about the information I had found.  Several days later, I received an informal response from the company stating the accusations written in my blog were “untrue.”  Hmmm.  Strange since we could see the ins and outs of their giving program on their website.  If their website was accurate, then I knew what I was saying was true.  After yet another call and email to them, a formal response was made.

“Thirty-One believes in celebrating, encouraging and rewarding women. Thirty-One Gives is our philanthropic initiative that ensures this mission is carried out through the celebration and empowerment of women and girls by strengthening their belief in themselves and strengthening their families … actions that lead to purposeful and thriving lives.

We support initiatives that align with this mission, which is why we focus our giving on organizations that support leadership and economic independence for women and girls such as Salvation Army, Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, Dress for Success Worldwide, Girls Scouts and YWCA of Central Ohio.

Thirty-One Gives has not provided any direct funding for Planned Parenthood or any other activities outside the scope of our mission.

Thirty-One Gives supports HER, no matter her circumstances, no matter where she’s been or where she’s going. We want to be there in her greatest time of need and in her greatest time of joy. We empower HER.

So, now we know that Thirty-One has been informed, and they simply don’t care.  Strange for a supposed “Christian” organization…but honestly, not surprising.  We are living in a time where Christians are scared to stand up for what is right, pastors are scared to talk about the sanctity of human life from the pulpit, Biblical values are being tossed to the side, and justifications for our sins are being made because we don’t want to be inconvenienced.  It is no wonder 33% of women choose abortion.  It is no wonder 72% of abortions are being performed on Christian women.  It is no wonder that we have the most pro-abortion president in history.  We are not willing to fight!  We are not willing to stand up for Godly principles and values!  Just like Thirty One, so many know the truth and yet we do nothing to solve the problem.

Let us be part of the solution.  Let us stand up for Christian values.  Let us not cave to convenience.  No one said being a Christian would be easy.  No one said being a true pro-life advocate would be easy.  But both are right and necessary.

It is said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Is it? Or is it paved with justifications by Christians? I recently posted some information that I found incredibly disappointing. I found out that a Christian company called “Thirty-One Gifts” is giving money to groups that fund Planned Parenthood. I asked the people on my page to contact the company and ask them to stop giving. As pro-lifers, we should always take the time to educate the public about links to the abortion industry. This was yet another opportunity.

For several hours, the posts were positive…”thank you for letting us know,” “I will be sure to send an email,” “this is a great opportunity to educate them about the abortion industry,” etc. Even consultants were coming on my page thanking me for this information. They were going to go back and get some answers. Great! That was the point of my post.

Then the bomb dropped. The “Thirty-One” all women’s mafia invaded my page. These all are Christian women who sell Thirty-One Gifts. However, based on their comments, you wouldn’t know they were Christians. One called me the devil. Several said that, as Christians, we should not be judging this organization (even though they are helping to fund abortion). Some wanted to know HOW MUCH money was given to Planned Parenthood by these organizations (as if that matters). And anyway, as most of them pointed out, Thirty-One Gifts does a lot of good…surely we can overlook this. A few of them came on my page to defend Planned Parenthood.

So, there it is. Christians defending the funding of abortion. Christians defending their own sinful actions. Christians defending sin. Why do we insist on justifying sin? Because that sin provides us income? Because that sin makes really cute purses? Because I don’t want sin to inconvenience me? Yes, probably all of those in this case.

Please understand that I never said to boycott Thirty-One Gifts. I simply wanted to give people the opportunity to contact this company and inform them where their money is going. Isn’t that what we should do? Shouldn’t we, as pro-lifers, want to do as much as we can to stop the funding of the abortion industry? Some of us do…apparently, some of us do not.

I know all about the justification of sin…I did it for 8 years. I would tell myself, “God doesn’t want women to die from illegal abortions, so working in the legal abortion industry must be the right thing to do.” Sometimes I would say, “We at Planned Parenthood do SO much good. Abortion is just a tiny percent of our business. You can’t let abortion overshadow the good that we do.” It went on and on.

I remember attending an event where the president of “Clergy for Choice” was going to be speaking. I was so excited! Finally, a pastor defending abortion. I was sure I would be able to pick up many more justifications. He was asked about the unborn child. His answer, “The unborn do not become babies until the mother decides they are wanted.” Hmm. That sounded pretty good to me! Yet another justification in my road to hell.

In Father Tom Euteneuer’s powerful book, “Demonic Abortion,” he wrote about neutrality and justifications in our Christian world. He said,

“Unless the disciples of Christ truly awake from their slumber and unite in opposition to the heinous crime [of abortion], the collective guilt of this industry will fall upon us all as a people, and Jesus will say to us, like He said to the weeping women of Jerusalem on His Way to Calvary, ‘Do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children.’ We will not be held accountable if we fail to stop such an immense evil, but we will receive a withering judgment if we live amidst the evil and do nothing about it. The Medieval poet, Dante Alleghieri (1265-15321), is supposed to have said that ‘the hottest places of hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality.’”

I pray that we all stop these justifications. I pray that when we hear these sorts of things, “but they do a lot of good,” we will be reminded that doing good doesn’t matter when it comes to the taking of life. I pray that we will be a people of courage. I pray that we will not worry about being inconvenienced for the sake of standing up for what is right. I pray that we will not worry about being popular or maintaining the status quo. I pray that we will stand up, unite and fight.

After I left the abortion industry, I learned a very important lesson. When something is right, you don’t have to justify it. Right is always right, and wrong is always wrong.

When my aunt had breast cancer, she went through chemo.  Her hair fell out…in huge chunks.  Eventually, she decided she needed to shave her head.  I remember when she did it.  I felt sick about it.  I can’t imagine shaving my head.  I can’t imagine not having hair.  That may seem like a silly fear, but it is real for me.  She was brave.  She died with that same courage and strength.

I recently met another courageous woman and her family.  Her name is Erika Vandiver.  She is young, and struggling with breast cancer.  She has a little girl.  Her story is amazing and miraculous.  But her struggle is not over…far from it.

Since becoming pro-life, I have stopped giving money to Susan G. Komen.  I have stopped giving to any charitable organization that supports Planned Parenthood, either financially or ideologically.  I hate cancer…but I hate abortion even more.  I hate that almost 4,000 children die from abortion every day in this country.  I hate that organizations like Komen give our largest abortion provider over $500,000 a year.  And I know their talking points…they give it so women can have mammograms…they only give so Planned Parenthood can provide breast services.  Well, here’s the truth:

No Planned Parenthood in this country provides mammogram services.  Komen’s donations go into Planned Parenthood’s general operating fund.  There is no oversight of Komen money once it is in Planned Parenthood hands.  Those are facts.

So, since I am not supporting any organization that supports Planned Parenthood or supports embryonic stem cell research, I had to make a decision.  I still wanted to give to the “breast cancer movement.”  But how?  I decided to give directly to those struggling with breast cancer.  I decided to give to Erika Vandiver.  I decided to give where it was really needed.  Fifty dollars doesn’t make much difference to an organization like Komen…but it makes a huge difference to a family struggling with breast cancer.  It makes a huge difference when that family is struggling to pay medical bills.

I encourage you to do the same.  We already give Planned Parenthood $487 million dollars of our tax money.  That is enough for me.  I don’t want to contribute one more dime to that organization.  But I do want to help families that are stricken with this disease.  You can help, too.  Erika is just an example of one woman who could use your help.  You can donate to her medical fund by going to http://erikasmiraclejourney.blogspot.com/. You can help other women like her.

Scripture says, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’. Acts 20:35”  Let’s put this into action.