Who Will You Fear Today?

I’m fifteen years old and I am pregnant by my boyfriend, who is twenty-three years old, and I need help.

Eighteen-year-old Lila Rose rehearsed her made-up story as she walked into the Planned Parenthood clinic. The interview she recorded through her hidden microphone that day became hard evidence of illegal activity at the abortion giant. Planned Parenthood threatened to sue, yet Lila’s undercover work against the billion-dollar organization continued. She is now a national leader in the pro-life community and has prompted federal investigations into Planned Parenthood’s practices. Lila’s work has saved the lives of babies and inspired others to do the same.

The convergence of babies, political power, and justice is not new. These issues were central in the biblical account of Egypt’s oppression of Israel when Pharaoh ordered midwives to kill all male babies at birth (Exodus 1). But two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, feared God more than Pharaoh and refused to kill the Hebrew babies. As a result, many Hebrew babies were saved—including Moses, who would one day lead the Israelites to freedom.

The midwives did not deceive Pharaoh for personal benefit or gain. In fact, they were taking a great personal risk to spare the lives of the Hebrew children. God blessed the midwives, not for deceiving Pharaoh, but for having a greater fear of God than of people and for saving the innocent.

For the midwives, for Lila, and for us in our own spheres of influence, our lives come down to a question of whom we fear. The fear of others’ opinions brings about cowardly actions that target the innocent and also cause many good people to shrink back in silence when they should speak out. On the other hand, the fear of God elicits the courage to oppose evil and the schemes that are launched against the most innocent and defenseless among us. Who will you be afraid of today?

We are all called to protect the innocent. If you believe abortion is wrong, what would you be willing to do to save the lives of the unborn?

What is your fear level when it comes to standing up for the unborn?

How could your faith cancel out that fear?