Where Is the True Compassion?

Psalms 10:17–18,

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart;
you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

As long as their have been people on the earth, there has been social injustice. Because of sin, people hurt other people, and that commonly means that those with power hurt those who are most vulnerable. This is one of the easiest ways that we know this world is broken and dark.

But one thing different about the injustice of today, because of the role media plays in our society, is that certain people and organizations can spin injustice to appear as just the opposite. For example, because of their expertise in public relations, or maybe because they receive over half a billion dollars annually of government funding, some powerful organizations are able to put out propaganda that makes oppression look like compassion. They disguise evil as good, which has been the work of Planned Parenthood in this country for over 40 years.

Planned Parenthood is the leading abortion provider in America, and they posture themselves as an advocate for women. They put on a pretty face and try to manipulate public perception to see them as a service — to see them as a good thing. But all of this posturing crumbles, of course, when we get a chance to see what they really think and do, which is what happened this past week when a video was released of Planned Parenthood’s director of medical services. You have all probably seen the video, or at least heard about it. A director at Planned Parenthood was found talking about exchanging the organs and body parts of aborted babies for use in medical research.

And as much as Planned Parenthood has tried to bury the issue, and refer to the body parts and organs as mere tissue, anyone can go watch the video and see what this director actually says. And this video forces everyone to question Planned Parenthood’s projected narrative of compassionate healthcare. Now, “compassionate healthcare for women” is what they say, but what they say is becoming more difficult to buy.

The president of Planned Parenthood actually released a statement a couple days ago, and in this statement, she says that those who advocate for the lives of unborn children, pro-life people, Christians like many of us, she says, quote: “have never been concerned for the health and safety of women.” And that is lie.

That is more posturing — that is Planned Parenthood trying to appear different than they truly are. And one thing it makes clear to me, all over again, is that there are multiple victims of this organization. The obvious victims of abortion are the millions of innocent babies who have been killed inside the womb, and sometimes outside the womb, since 1973.

But the other victim is ironically the one Planned Parenthood claims to care for. It’s women. Behind the millions of babies aborted are millions of mothers who, when they are most vulnerable, have been wooed through the doors of Planned Parenthood, where they had their fears confirmed and their hopes destroyed. We have to understand that behind most abortions is not a staunch conviction in pro-choice, but confusion and hurt and what feels like the absence of options. Which means, when we speak against the evil of abortion, we should be careful not to speak against its victims.

Planned Parenthood seizes upon the vulnerable — vulnerable women and their vulnerable unborn children, and if you are here and you have been a victim of that, know that we love you. You matter to us. Forgiveness and new life is really found in Jesus, and we want you here, and we want you to experience that with us.

And as a church, this means that when a mother has an unplanned pregnancy, and she feels like, “I don’t want this child or I can’t do this on my own”, the question for us is who is going to be there for her saying something other than the message of death that comes from Planned Parenthood? Who will be there for her truly compassionate with a message of hope?

That is a question for us, and that leads us now into a time of confession. So often, the reason our hearts are not moved for the oppressed is because we have lost sight of God’s heart. Before we can ever be leaders of justice, we have to be led back to God himself.