Last week we babysat five-year-old, boy/girl twins* for a friend. One of them wanted to play with a small basketball he’d found. Not sure what my friend’s rules were, I told Tyler* he could only roll, not throw, the ball in the house. He cocked his head and said defiantly, “It’s MY ball, and I can do with it what I want!” Every time I warned him about throwing the ball, he repeated his mantra.

Somehow Tyler’s words had a familiar ring which I couldn’t place at first. Then it came to me. This is basically the philosophy and argument of those who say that a woman has a right to have an abortion: “It’s MY body, and I can do with it what I want.”

While I don’t condone abortions for non-Christians, I am mystified by Christians who have this “It’s MY body!” philosophy. I Corinthians 6:19-20 says to believers, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is NOT your own–it belongs to Him.

The Apostle Paul adds in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God…” Bodies that have been offered to God as living sacrifices do not belong to us. Paul goes on to say, “Don’t be conformed to the pattern of this world..” The pattern of this world is to avoid anything that could be the least bit uncomfortable, unpleasant, or inconvenient–carrying a baby for nine months, going through labor and delivery, paying all the expenses that raising a child entails.

In two of the Gospels, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:23) We live in a culture that knows nothing about self-denial. Christians and non-Christians alike indulge their appetite for premarital or extramarital sex and when a baby results, too often they are unwilling to deny themselves in whatever ways are necessary to give that baby life.

Unless the pregnancy is the result of rape, we had a choice whether or not we would have sex. If pregnancy results, we have a choice whether or not to have an abortion. However, in either case, we cannot control the outcome. There is forgiveness for the sin of having sex outside of marriage and there is forgiveness for the sin of abortion, but a lifetime filled with regret often follows. How much better to surrender our bodies to God and make choices using His Word as our standard, rather than our culture.

Forgive us, Father, when we refuse to acknowledge as Christians that our bodies belong to you. Forgive us when we buy into the philosophy of our culture. Pour out your Spirit and restore us to righteousness by the renewing of our minds. Amen.

 *These photos are not my friend’s grandchildren and the name has been changed.