“Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” Mat 19:13-14
When we read through the gospel account, we cannot help but notice that Jesus loved children very much. In this account, He had just finished teaching the disciples regarding marriage. After He was done, children were brought to Him, that He might lay hands upon them and pray for them. However, the disciples rebuked the people. They no doubt felt that Jesus was too busy to be bothered with children. However, Jesus rebuked the disciples, telling them to let the children come. I can picture Jesus playing with them, laying hands, and praying with them. Listening to what they said with true interest. I can picture the children, jumping and dancing around Him with big smiles, waiting for the opportunity to get His undivided attention. He considered them as, if not more, important than anyone else. Is this the prevailing attitude today?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Many people do not see children as a blessing, but a burden. I have seen where parents will sabotage their children’s future for a little convenience today. This is a travesty, showing that they love themselves more than they love their children. In this post, I am going to discuss what is happening with our children today. Some of this may be difficult to read. However, I cannot discuss this any other way then to be brutally honest. Be warned, some of this is downright ugly.
Note: Some of the research that follows was done around 20 years ago when I originally wrote this blog entry. Unfortunately, these statistics have only gotten worse throughout the following years.
Many children do not make it to birth because their parents make the decision to end their lives in the womb. According to the Guttmacher Institute, https://www.guttmacher.org/, a leading organization in the research, policy analysis, and public education regarding sexual and reproductive health, in 2008, 19.6 of every 1000 women between 15 and 44 had an abortion. This comes out to 1.21 million abortions. These numbers may or may not include those who are born alive due to a failed abortion and are allowed to just die alone on a cold hard surface. Moreover, 22% occurred past the twelfth week of pregnancy. In 2004, which is the latest information available, the following reasons were given for having an abortion with the percentage of women responding with that answer.
Having a baby would dramatically change my life – 74%
Cannot afford a baby now – 73%
Don’t want to be a single mother or having relationship problems – 48%
Have completed my childbearing – 38%
Not ready for a or another child – 32%
Don’t want people to know I had sex or got pregnant – 25%
Don’t feel mature enough to raise a or another child – 22%
Husband or partner wants me to have an abortion – 14%
Possible problems affecting the health of the fetus – 13%
Physical problem with my health – 12%
Parents want me to have an abortion – 6%
Was a victim of rape 1%
Became pregnant as a result of incest – <0.5%
As you can see, the majority of the abortions done in 2004 were for convenience, not necessity. And there is no reason to believe those statistics have changed dramatically since the percentages in 1987 for the same categories have not changed much at all. The attitude is, “I am going to have sex no matter what, and if I get pregnant, I’ll just rid myself of this unfortunate side effect.” This is not love for the children but love of self. This is not seeing life growing in the womb as a human being, but as some unwanted tissue that is in the way of the good life. Now, for those of you who are Christians and had abortions in the past, I am in no way trying to disparage you. Forgiveness has been attained and you are beloved of God. These statistics are simply to show the attitudes of modern society today.
In China, where they have a one child policy, there are a large number of abortions performed. In 2002, the latest statistics I could find, there were 6.34 million abortions performed. This is over 5 times the number here in the United States. In the US, these babies are normally disposed of similarly to a piece of trash. However, in China, they have discovered a new and absolutely horrific use for aborted children. According to the International Business Times, in an article published on August 5th, 2011, they have begun to use these precious children’s bodies to produce a stamina boosting pill by freeze drying the bodies, grinding them into powder, then placing the powder in a capsule for consumption. When a Korean group ran tests against some pills they acquired, it was determined the ingredients to be 99.7% human. Can anyone see cannibalism here?
In ancient times, the Canaanites used to worship the god Moloch (other names are Molech and Ba’al Melech). This was an evil god which had the head of a bull and the body of a man. It required the sacrifice of children as its offerings. This false deity was in the sitting position with its arms spread out, ready to receive the child. The image was made of metal, hollow so that a fire could be built within it causing it to become red hot throughout its great mass. The children were slain, then laid in the arms of Moloch where it was burned, eventually dropping directly into the fire. Those providing the sacrifice (normally the parents) were required to remain quiet with no tears or outside signs of emotion. If the firstborn was offered, then this was to ensure financial success for the family and future children. The main reason for the sacrifices was to secure the blessings of Moloch in the form of prosperity, protection, and comfort. What is the difference between sacrificing children to Moloch for its blessings, and sacrificing them to the god of convenience for its blessings? I say there is NO DIFFERENCE.
When we watch the news, we see many cases where children are reported missing, later to be found dead in a field, wooded area, or a ditch. There are many children around the world who are taken from their homes or sold by their parents or other relatives into slavery, where they are forced to work hard for their owners, or worse, become a part of the sex trade where they are abused as much as 20 times or more a day by paying clients. There are untold numbers of children who are beaten by their parents when they disobey or displease their caregiver in some way. And if they are not physically abused, they may be sexually, mentally, or verbally abused. There are organization like NAMBLA, the National Man Boy Love Association whose sole purpose in life is to promote pedophilia as a normal lifestyle. What a travesty. And as I am writing this article, the National Psychiatric Association wants to redefine pedophilia in order to reduce the trauma for the abuser. God help us in this day and age.
As for Christians, I have seen too many children who have gone to church all their lives and know little if anything of the Bible or Christian ideas. The parents of these children are not teaching them the most important things in all of life and eternity, but they spend an inordinate amount of time on sports, dance, and other activities. Much of the time, it is because the parents are just as clueless as the children regarding spiritual matters. They are ceding this responsibility to the Church, which often are not providing adequate teaching. Moreover, if the children see that their parents put little importance on the things of God, how will they view them? Probably not as a high priority. And what is really sad, many of these children end up going astray into drugs and alcohol, and many things much worse. How can parents, who claim to be Christians who understand the eternal ramifications of both accepting and denying Christ, not place Christian education and training as the highest priority? They are placing temporal pleasures ahead of their children’s eternal life in Christ. This too is an atrocity that needs to be stopped.
So, what can we do to end these atrocities against our helpless ones. We can start with prayer. God hears the prayers of His people. He will come to the aid of the helpless and defend the defenseless. But many times, He will use us, the Church, to perform this task. There are many good agencies that work to help children all over the world. Get involved. Be God’s hands and feet to help those who cannot help themselves. Below is a list of great organizations you can get involved with, both in financial support and volunteering that work to save many children from these horrendous situations.
Cobb Pregnancy Resource Center, an organization in Cobb County, GA that provides services to pregnant women which educates them in alternatives to abortions, giving these babies the opportunity to be born and live a beautiful life. Their web page is found at http://www.cobbpregnancyresourcecenter.org.
Operation Rescue® is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation.
http://www.operationrescue.org/.
Covenant House, one of the largest privately funded childcare agencies in the U.S., Covenant House provides services to homeless and runaway youth. http://www.covenanthouse.org.
Exodus Cry, the prayer movement to end slavery. http://exoduscry.com/home.
Not For Sale Campaign, an organization that equips and mobilizes Smart Activists to re-abolish slavery, in their own backyards and across the globe. http://www.notforsalecampaign.org.
Freedom Firm is dedicated to the liberation of children enslaved in commercial sexual exploitation, to their effective rehabilitation, and to justice against those who have profited from their misery. They unapologetically stand dedicated to this cause and this cause alone. http://www.freedom.firm.in.
Children International, a humanitarian organization focused on helping overcome poverty through child sponsorship. http://www.children.org/.
World Vision is an organization that builds a better world for children through child sponsorship.
These are just a few organizations I am familiar with and support either through prayer, financial giving and/or through volunteering. I encourage you all to get involved either in these or others that help to make the lives of children possible and better. God wants His church to step up and eliminate the atrocities above and help those who are trapped in or have been hurt by this ugliness. For us to know this is going on and not to do anything is to turn a blind eye and go on our merry way, acting as if we do not care. How can we, who are followers of God, simply turn our backs on those who need us most. Where would we be if God had done the same to us? Edmund Burke once said, “All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” We must come against evil wherever we find it. We must not allow it to continue and grow. The Church is the most powerful entity on the face of the earth. It is time we rise up and tell the world we will not take this anymore. We will not sit back and watch millions of babies being slaughtered before they are born, simply because it is just not convenient. We must not stand in the background as our precious children are abused by evil men and women for the gratification of their own lusts and desires. We must stand up to those who mistreat children by beating and verbally abusing them, simply because they can. We must stand against the god of convenience that has permeated our society. Let’s become who God has called us to be; warriors against the principalities and powers that rule in the world today. Let’s get involved and together, as the triumphant Church, make a difference in the lives of hurting children until Christ returns to make things right again. God loves these precious little ones, and He expects us to do the same. If we do nothing, what excuse will we have when we stand before Him?
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