When are Christians gonna get it? It is NOT our job to make life decisions for the lives of others. As a Christian woman myself, I have to say that I am the type of person that is pro-choice. I believe that since I am not God and I am not perfect at all, I do not have the right to force my beliefs onto someone and force them to do things my way. As long as that person show me the same courtesy, I’m cool. I don’t have a heaven or a hell to put anyone in so therefore, I don’t have the right to tell people how to live their life. That’s why I have been able to stay out of drama because of the mutual respect that is demonstrated in my life.
I just wished that the head honchos at the Christian-owned Hobby Lobby craft stores would’ve adopted that same understanding. But unfortunately…they didn’t. According to the news, the powers-that-be of this chain had to go to court on Tuesday because they believed that the Affordable Care Act violated their religious beliefs because the Act makes it a requirement for corporations to cover birth control in their health plan and thus, this law also applies to Hobby Lobby.
Of course, I understand that the Bible states that God is not cool with premarital sex. Okay, I get that. And I’m sure that’s what’s driving Hobby Lobby to fight against birth control. However, I’m also sure that we all know that there are millions of Christians and un-Christians that have had sex (and plenty of it) outside of marriage. Millions of people have done that and even had children as a result of it. We are all human. Whether you are a Christian or not, you get horny just like the next person. Some people can fight the urge to ‘do the nasty’ but some people are not as strong. That’s just how it is and it doesn’t mean that one person is less of a Christian than the other.
So with being said, the ‘big wigs’ at Hobby Lobby needs to take three key points into consideration in regards to them fighting the requirement to cover birth control:
1. Unwanted Pregnancies.
Mr. and Mrs. Hobby Lobby, please put your heads together and realize that if you choose to fight the requirement to cover birth control in your health plans, there will be a slew of unwanted pregnancies (which also includes pregnant teenagers) that could’ve been avoided if birth control was made easily accessible. Am I condoning premarital sex? Absolutely not. But what I do condone is the fact that there are women out there who want to be responsible when it comes to having sex and do not want to bring a child in this world that may be a financial burden to them and/or their families. Not only that, with unwanted pregnancies comes the possibility of more recipients needing welfare, food stamps, and every other kind of governmental assistance. And who has to pay for that? The working class…the same working class that has to pay taxes and take care of their own families. So if it can effect the working class, you can best believe that it will also effect YOUR money, Mr. and Mrs. Hobby Lobby.
2. Disconnect from God.
Mr. and Mrs. Hobby Lobby, anytime that people start playing the ‘Christian Card’ and get on their high horse, turning up their Christian noses at people, acting holier-than-thou, and acting like the sun don’t shine unless they say so, people who are NOT Christians have a tendency to be completely turned off by Christianity and even from having a relationship with God altogether. You don’t have to agree with the way that some people choose to live their life but you should definitely respect them for who they are and not try to force your beliefs onto them. Would you want someone to force their beliefs on you? Over the years, Christianity has had a bad rap with people who are saved by the blood of Jesus because we don’t know how to stop being so damn judgmental. We are so quick to be a dictator instead of a listener. Simply put, this birth control issue has nothing to do with anyone trying to violate your religious rights. If anything, it is YOU that is violating the rights of others by taking away their right to choose to use birth control or not by trying to weasel yourselves out of covering it. If you’re trying to get people to develop a beautiful relationship with God and learn about what He requires from us, forcing your ways onto someone is not the way to do it. The best thing that you can do as a Christian is be an example of love, kindness, understanding, and patience. Leave the rest up to God and quit playing God. If we were to take a look into your closet, I’m pretty sure that we would find a slew of things that are not Christian-like.
3. Birth control helps with PMS.
Let me get a lil’ personal for just a second. Ever since I was a teenager, I suffered with PMS. I used to sweat a lot, experience heavy bleeding, and the menstrual cramps were so severe that they used to make me regurgitate tremendously. I couldn’t even keep water down on my stomach and the more I threw up, the worst the cramps became. I used to miss days from school and when I became a working adult, you can best believe that I missed some days from work because of the uncontrollable symptoms. My menstrual cycle damn near controlled my life to the point where I had to plan things around it and if I had anything planned on the day of my cycle, I had to cancel it immediately, fearing that I would get sick in public. Things stayed that way…until I turned thirty-years old and I paid a visit to my gynecologist. I informed her that I had been suffering from severe PMS for years and I wanted to find out what I needed to do in order to control it. She placed me on birth control and I must say that I didn’t experience severe PMS anymore. I was able to eat and enjoy my day with ease. Before using the birth control, pain pills wouldn’t even work for me at all. After taking birth control, if I felt a twinge of pain, I would be able to take a pain pill and keep on keepin’ on with my day. And the cherry on top was that my cycle was no longer heavy. So basically, birth control does more than just control an unwanted birth.
In a nutshell, my take on this whole thing is that if you’re not the one taking the pill, then mind your own business. No one has the right to make decisions for someone else, whether their decision is what you agree with or not. Whatever they choose to do or not do, that’s between them and God. Just continue to sell awesome craft supplies and leave the choice of birth control to those that give birth.
Sonica
Copyright © 2014 by Sonica Jackson
***The views and opinions expressed here on my website are solely those of myself and do not in any way represent the views and opinions of WordPress or anyone else.
