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Jan.
23, 2015
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PHA
Monthly
Newsletter
for the
Pro-Life Healthcare
Alliance
Eighteenth Edition |
From
the Chairman's
Desk
I
Will Not Serve!
I Will Not Be
Served!
Dr. Brian
Kopp
"Long ago
you broke your
yoke, you tore off
your bonds.
'I will
not serve!' you
said."
- Jeremiah
2:20
Jeremiah attributes
the declaration "I
will not serve" to
the people of Israel
in their rejection
of God. More
generally, it is
attributed to
Lucifer in his
refusal to serve the
Creator-God and his
desire to himself be
worshiped. The
phrase "I will not
serve!"
appropriately
describes the sexual
revolution's
rejection of God and
His moral law and
the idolization of
youth and
unrestrained
sexuality. The "I
will not serve"
mentality has strewn
wreckage in its
path.
There
is a corollary
to "I will not
serve": "I will
not be
served!"
In Scripture, when
Jesus talks about
the Last Judgment,
He says:
"For I was
hungry and you
gave me something
to eat, I was
thirsty and you
gave me something
to drink, I was a
stranger and you
invited me in, I
needed clothes and
you clothed me, I
was sick and you
looked after me, I
was in prison and
you came to visit
me...Truly I tell
you, whatever you
did for one of the
least of these
brothers and
sisters of mine,
you did for me." -
Matthew 25:35-36,
40
One can almost hear
the lament:
"I will not
be served because
whatsoever you do
to the least of
His brothers that
you do unto Him.
I've always done
everything for
me. I've
never done
anything for Him.
I'm not going to
start now! I'm not
going to humble
myself. I will not
allow anyone to do
unto Him by
letting them do
unto me.
"I will not
suffer. I would
rather die. Now
and in eternity, I
will shake my fist
in the face of
God, spit in His
eye one last time
when I refuse my
last meal, take my
last pill, draw my
final breath. My last
act will be
eternal rebellion
and thus
damnation."
This rejection of
suffering short
circuits the cycle
of grace that comes
both in serving "the
least of these
brothers and sisters
of mine" and in
being served as "the
least of these." By
humbling ourselves
so that we may be
served, those who
serve us may attain
Eternal Life.The tip of the spear in the present battle regarding stealth euthanasia* is death by dehydration. In the vast majority of cases of stealth euthanasia, death occurs primarily due to withdrawal of fluids, leading to volume depletion, organ failure, shock, and death. The symptoms of dehydration are almost always masked by narcotic analgesics, sedatives and anti-psychotics. Stealth euthanasia is not just unethical and immoral, but also an obvious violation of the basis on which Jesus said we would be judged.
Today many are not only quietly acquiescing to the stealth euthanasia agenda, but are requesting the legalization of assisted suicide. The same generation that idolized youth and sex is refusing to bear the ignobility of sickness, old age and vulnerability.
Why accept natural death? Because, instead of final rebellion, it is final surrender. Acceptance of death at the time of God's choosing says:
"Please,
Lord, let this cup
pass me by. But
not my will but
Your will be done.
If that means
taking this cup of
spoon feeding or
tube feeding or IV
hydration, Your
will be done! If
that means letting
others care for me
and giving up my
radical autonomy,
so be it! If that
means letting
others clean my
face or
behind,this, Lord,
seems too much to
bear! But this too
I accept. I am not
sufficient unto
myself. Without
You, God, I am
nothing.
"Your will
be done. I humble
myself and permit
others to serve
You in my person,
in my weak and
vulnerable and
suffering body, in
the ignobility of
age and sickness.
I accept that,
where once I did
for others, now I
must permit others
to do for me.
Because I am one
of "the least"
now, and in Your
providence You
call forth the
next generation to
love and serve
selflessly, I must
swallow my pride.
I am no longer the
strong one, the
warrior. I am now
the one who needs
protection. You
call new warriors
into the arena to
protect me, feed
me, clothe me,
bathe me.
"I permit
others to console
Your heart by
consoling and
caring for me in
my need. That
alone makes it
possible to bear
my cross. Because
in doing it for
me, they do it for
You."
Ultimately, the
battle against
euthanasia and
assisted suicide is
a battle for eternal
souls--our own
souls, the souls of
those for whom we
fight and for whom
we care, and the
souls of those who
care for us.* "Stealth euthanasia": hastening death by neglect or intention while pretending to provide appropriate end-of-life care.
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