Christians are supposed to turn the other cheek, right?

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’” said Jesus. “But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:38-39).

But does that mean as believers we’re supposed to simply acquiesce to the evildoers who want to kill pre-born children or brainwash and confuse our kids with propaganda that insults and mocks God’s plan for human sexuality?

Of course not.

Jesus was referring to our need to leave revenge to the Lord. If passivity was the ideal pathway, why would the Lord have urged Joshua to be “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

If we weren’t supposed to fight for righteousness in the culture, why would Nehemiah describe the scene of laborers building a wall with one hand while holding a sword in the other (Nehemiah 4:17)?

Here is the hard and fast truth:

We’re on the verge of overturning Roe because millions of Christians have been fighting and praying faithfully against unjust law for nearly 50 years.

They haven’t given up. They haven’t walked away from the fight.

Righteous indignation to evil is an appropriate response. It’s okay to get mad. In fact, righteous anger, properly channeled and expressed, can lead to liberty, peace and freedom.

Did the slave abolitionists just shrug and shrivel away shyly? No. They pushed and pulled and raised their voices. The extraordinary spectacle of the Civil War in the United States is what led to President Lincoln’s decision to emancipate American slaves. It didn’t come easy. It rarely does.

Many of the stalwarts of the early pro-life movement are in Heaven now. They’ve earned their rest and their reward. But we should never forget them, nor the fight that was in them.

I’m thinking of Nellie Gray, the founder of the March for Life. She died almost ten years ago. Back in 1973, she had a comfortable job as a government attorney. It paid the bills and came with the promise of a pension. But then came the evil decision of Roe, and Nellie couldn’t stand to sit idly by – so she formed the first March for Life in 1974. She gave up her job and jumped into the fight.

“Somehow a juggernaut of evil has grown in this country, including Catholics who vote for pro-choice candidates,” she said at the time. “We will never win this fight until this juggernaut is exposed and eliminated. I just don’t know how we’re going to do it.”

There’s a lesson in that statement for all of us. When we see evil, we don’t always have to know how to eradicate it. We simply have to be willing – and if we provide the will, the Lord will show the way.

How we fight is important, too. As Christians we remember that this is a spiritual battle, and so we rely on God’s weapons and defenses (Eph. 6:10-17). Stop talking – and start doing. Attend a rally. Commit to prayer. Volunteer at a pregnancy resource center. Consider fostering or adopting a child. Write or call your representative. Make a donation to a worthy pro-life organization. Nobody is perfect – but we do our best as we fight and leave the rest to God.

We should be grateful for those willing to roll up their sleeves and fight on. One gets the impression the enemy is in the ring and up against the ropes. The nine black-robed referees are poised to step in, and we hope and pray that at least five of them are ready to count the evil out.

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