MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM WITH FAITH & CONFIDENCE

The Pro-Life Movement: Gearing Up for the 21st Century

King David and William Wilberforce Speak to Pro-Lifers

Words of Encouragement as We Enter the New Millennium

By Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ)

The Book of Psalms is a treasure trove of wisdom, encouragement, and divine practicality that, though thousands of years old, possesses stunning relevance for pro-lifers entering the new millennium.

In both Psalms 37 and 73, for example, David admonishes us not to be vexed, even if evildoers appear for a time to be succeeding. Even the great King David, a man after God's own heart, admitted to being profoundly vexed--almost to the point of despair.

But when he entered the sanctuary of the Lord, David understood that God Himself had promised the ultimate defeat of evildoers.

David counseled the faithful to trust earnestly in the Lord, to do good, and to commit "your way" to God.

As a 27-year veteran of a Movement that is relentlessly belittled and misunderstood, I believe that David's wise counsel is perfect for the men and women of the pro-life movement, especially young people, who are engaged in a noble and selfless global struggle to save the lives of unborn children.

When times are most discouraging, getting God's perspective is the perfect antidote. Haven't we all, at times, marveled at how the elites--especially in government, courts, the media, and academia--have bamboozled society into accepting (or at least acquiescing in) the slaughter of over 40 million baby girls and boys?

Haven't we all at some time wept with sorrow, looked up to heaven, and asked why? And then, perhaps, asked how can I, little me, make a difference?

Understanding the eternal perspective is the prerequisite both to beginning service in an effective fight to eradicate this present darkness and to sustaining that service. Abortion must and will end. Surely you and I are called to be part of that lifesaving effort.

For abortion is cruel, the vilest example of grotesque violence against children and women, masquerading as a "right." No society can long endure if it embraces the wholesale slaughter of its most vulnerable members.

There is also another source from which pro-lifers can learn. We have much in common with those equally misunderstood and belittled members of the movement to abolish another grotesque human rights abuse--slavery.

Perhaps the path followed by the great English parliamentarian, William Wilberforce, can offer fresh inspiration, direction, and a much-needed historical perspective.

Born in 1759, Wilberforce was first elected to the House of Commons at 21. He underwent a "great change" conversion four years later, which revolutionalized his priorities. As a devout Christian he came to be consumed with eradicating slavery.

According to John Pollock in his essay, William Wilberforce, A Man Who Changed His Times, Wilber-force at first had no doubt of quick success. (Sound familiar?) But his early optimism was tempered by a wise warning from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism: "Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you?"

Totally committed, Wilberforce formed a vibrant, talented group of believers who fasted, prayed, and worked in the cause. True to the adage that no good deed goes unpunished, they were reviled. (Sound familiar?) Not only was Wilberforce vilified by the best and brightest of his day, he was twice physically assaulted.

In 1788 Wilberforce first introduced his bill to abolish the slave trade. (At the time England boasted the largest slave trade in the world.) He was dealt a stinging defeat, the first in a string of setbacks. Undeterred, every year Wilberforce would resubmit his bill.

Years later, discouraged by his many defeats, Wilberforce contemplated quitting. He was fortified and brought back into the fray, in part by the former slave trader and long-time friend John Newton, author of the hymn "Amazing Grace." (When Wilberforce underwent his conversion as a young man, it had been Newton who persuaded him that God wanted Wilberforce to stay in politics rather than enter the ministry.)

Incremental victory by incremental victory, in 1807 the slave trade was finally totally abolished. It had taken 20 long years to win this world-changing reform. (In 1808 President Thomas Jefferson signed a measure that abolished the slave trade in America.) Wilberforce then went after slavery itself. The Emancipation Bill of 1833 set free every slave in Great Britain's colonies.

We, too, have won vitally important incremental victories at both the state and federal levels. These include funding bans, waiting periods, informed consent laws, parental involvement statues, and the recently enacted version of the Mexico City Policy designed to cut off subsidies to abortion promoters overseas. The enactment of laws banning partial-birth abortion in many states and the strong majorities in favor of the ban in both Houses of Congress have caused many Americans to embrace the pro-life view.

Wilberforce fought slavery for 47 years before he and his allies completely succeeded. If we are equally faithful, someday we will see the time when unborn children and their mothers will be freed from the abuse of abortion.

Wilberforce succeeded because he and his allies totally committed their way to the Lord, fasted, prayed, worked diligently within the political process, and did good. We need do nothing more, but by no means, nothing less.