What Situations Require Us to Raise Our Voices in Dissent?

As I was preparing this morning to head out to the abortion center sidewalk to urge abortion minded women not to abort, a conversation from last week came to mind. One woman stopped and was angry with me for offering help to these women and urging them to reconsider the choice of abortion. 

“Not everything is black and white!”she told me, “People have to weigh the pros and cons, their situation...and you don’t know their situation. You cannot tell them this is wrong for them!”

Which leads me to a story of shoes...and then back to that woman’s comments.

These shoes in the photo above  represent one of the best deals EVER or one of the stupidest. Only time will tell. As I have chronicled before, I am trying to heal my Achilles Tendonitis on my own through careful google research and follow through with the experts on Google I find trustworthy. To that end, I researched “Best Shoes for Achilles Tendonitis”. 

The shoe in this picture was rated in the top 5 of every survey I found. Problem...it can run as high as $299. That is not for the whole store, mind you, but for ONE pair of shoes. They are Skechers Shape Ups. They are almost impossible to find. They are not even on the Skechers website....but then, I found this pair, my size, for $25. Free shipping/free returns. I could not go wrong!

Now personally blingy black thick rocker bottom shoes with shiny stuff all over them is NOT my thing...but if they healed my achilles issues, I would wear them.

When they arrived, I put them on with great excitement. Folks these shoes are made with memory foam in the soles. That delicious ooozy material that conforms to your shape and nestles around you like a hug. MMMMMMMM. They were a little strange to walk in with the rocker bottom but SO comfortable.

Then I noticed the shoe box, which looked worn and tattered. Years of dust gathering. A bunch of stickers were over the original print with warnings that these shoes would NOT shape or tone your bottom and use these only according to instructions. I searched the box. No instructions. And what was this disclaimer about shaping my bottom? I didn’t necessarily want bottom shaping, though I would not kick it out the door. The purpose of the shoes for me was to walk without achilles pain.

However, I decided maybe I needed to do further research. 

Gulp. How had I missed that these shoes had been involved in a class action lawsuit for injuries to people that ranged from Achilles Tendonitis to broken bones when people twisted their ankle and fell. Hundreds of injuries as a result of wearing these shoes. Further lawsuits had been filed (and won) that said these shoes did NOT shape and tone as claimed. There was no scientific proof of any shaping of bottoms or toning of legs.

Some podiatrists said that wearing the shoes for limited time could help with pain, but over time, that lovely memory foam compresses and then can do damage. Some podiatrists said that wearing the shoes alters one’s gait and leads to other more serious problems.

Oh, and that free return? $7 restocking fee. Furthermore, since I had worn them once around the block and there was blacktop smudges on the bottoms, they could not be returned. I was out that $25.

So...do I wear them for limited time or not?

Now, back to that woman’s comments that I spoke about at the top of the blog. This shoe decision is important for me and my feet. There are pros and cons I need to weigh. I hope I make the right decision.  Nonetheless, I do not believe anyone would be justified in standing on my driveway with a bullhorn telling me not to wear the shoes, and they had help for me, and could save me from this disastrous decision. This really IS about my body, my choice.

So why do I do that exact thing on the sidewalk of the abortion center? 

See, at the abortion center, nearly every one of the 40-50 cars that will arrive today at the center parking lot will be delivering a living human being to his or her death. That little baby will have no rights, no say in the matter. He is given no say over his body, his choice. The father will also have no voice in the matter, even if he desperately wants his child to live. A living, innocent, defenseless little person will be destroyed if no one intercedes. Fifty of them on the busy days and Mondays are often busy. In surgical abortions, living human babies will be ripped apart limb by limb without anesthesia, and then those pieces disposed of like trash.

If any other human beings were being slaughtered this morning in those numbers, it would make national news. TV newspeople would be clamoring for new laws to insure such carnage never could occur again. The clear violations of the Geneva Convention regarding inhumane torture of innocent human victims would be touted from every politician’s podium.

Instead...silence. Except for a small number of folks on the sidewalk calling out and begging these people to reconsider.

Some situations are not black and white, and some have no moral consequence, like whether I wear the Skechers Shape-Ups or not. But some situations, like murdering an innocent baby, is clearly wrong, in defiance of God and of human decency and should be confronted. I don’t need to know the circumstances to declare the violent destruction of innocent human life to be reprehensible.

Now, if you have ever worn the Shape-Ups, I do welcome your advice....

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Ephesians 6:11 

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

John 3:20 

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

John 3:16 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Luke 17:3 

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,

James 5:19-20 

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.