How Should Christians Feel about Terry Schiavo

I have had many Christians ask my opinion about Terry Schiavo's situation.
Each of us has to make up our own mind. As Christians, let us turn to the
Bible to do that.  I have no doubts Satan is trying to influence many people
on this issue and there is no doubt the father of all lies is using as many
lies as he can muster.  Do not let Satan influence you on this important
issue.  Do not believe all the media reports - do not believe the lawyers,
the politicians, or anybody else who stands to benefit from bringing this
issue to a tragic close.  We (Christians) have an obligation to discern the
truth through prayer and Bible reading.

First, is starving Terry to death murder?  Under what other conditions can
we starve a human being to death?  I know of none.  We would not starve our
infant children to death, but there are courts in our country ordering
Terry's parents to let her starve to death.  I believe this is murder
(whether the courts agree or not) and the Bible says

EXODUS 20:13 "You shall not murder.

PROVERBS 28:17 A man tormented by the guilt of murder

    will be a fugitive till death;

    let no one support him.

How did we get to the point that some people in our society do not believe
that starving Terry is murder?  We have been on this slippery slope for a
while.  The path our country is following is spelled out for us in Romans.
The character of our country will determine the fate of this young woman.
The fate of this young woman could determine our fate as a Christian nation.
If we allow the forces in this country that are trying to devalue life and
remove God to succeed, the Bible tells us what will happen in Romans.  Let
me say that more directly.  If Christians in this country continue to
tolerate a judiciary influenced by Satan (and that is what I believe we
have) to kill babies and kill the disabled, God will hold us accountable for
those judges' actions and our inaction.

ROMANS 1:26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even
their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same
way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed
with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and
received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

ROMANS 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to
retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do
what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of
wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they
disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless,
ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do
such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things
but also approve of those who practice them.

ROMANS 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning
yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know
that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So
when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do
you think you will escape God's judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the
riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's
kindness leads you toward repentance?

Should we feed a disabled woman with a poor quality of life or let her
starve?  Jesus himself answers this question for us. 

MATTHEW 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who
are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for
you since the creation of the world. 35 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, 36 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.'

MATTHEW 25:37 "Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we
see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and
clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

MATTHEW 25:40 "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


MATTHEW 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me,
you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty
and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite
me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison
and you did not look after me.'

MATTHEW 25:44 "They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry
or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did
not help you?'

MATTHEW 25:45 "He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did
not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

MATTHEW 25:46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life."

Is there is any doubt left that Terry should be fed and cared for, look at
the words of Jesus to Peter.  Three times he instructed Peter to feed his
sheep.

JOHN 21:15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon
son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

    "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

    Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

What kind of person are we allowed to starve to death, according to the
Bible?  I can not find any category of person that we are commanded to let
starve.  In Romans, we are given more instruction on who to feed and how to
battle evil. 

ROMANS 12:20 On the contrary:

  "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."



RO 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I think these verses are good marching orders for Christians to weigh in on
this issue.  If Michael Schiavo is a misguided man being deceived by Satan
(which can happen to any of us who fail to call on God when Satan approaches
us), or if he is a true villain, it is imperative that Christians maintain
the moral high ground on this issue.  The most powerful force at work in
this tragedy is love and therefore, should be our weapon of choice. 

For my part, in looking at the two sides of this tragedy, I can clearly see
which side is acting out of love. 

Better than David and Goliath

If we were writing the Bible today, the story of Ashley Smith would have to be included.  The young widow from Atlanta whose faith yielded better results than all of the police officers in Georgia and the FBI combined is a hero of the Faith of Biblical proportions. 

Ashley Smith had every excuse to turn away from God when her husband was killed four years ago, but she did not.  Without knowing all the details of her journey in Faith, I do know that she had an active, live Faith that served her well in a very trying situation.  The kind of calm, wisdom, and Faith that Ashley displayed did not develop from a passive “wish” to understand the Bible and walk closely with Jesus.  Ashley knew the Bible and explained her Faith to a hardened, cold-blooded and hopeless rapist and murderer while her life was obviously at risk.  That has to be the result of reading the Bible and praying to a living Savior. 

After losing a spouse to murder, most of us would struggle to witness to a murderer.  It would be much easier to hate murderers and hope that they would “burn in Hell.”  It would be much easier to hate a murderer that was holding us captive than to wish to see him saved. Ashley did not want her captor to burn in Hell anymore than she wanted to leave her daughter parentless.  Where does a young widow develop such a concern for a man who could take her life and leave her daughter an orphan?

Matthew 5

44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

Ashley’s concern for Brian Nichol’s soul and its eternal fate may have been the first concern shown for this evil man in a long time.  The only force that can overcome the kind of evil in Brian Nichols comes from God.  The Holy Spirit guided Ashley Smith to witness effectively to this man that she no Earthly reason to care for.  Ashley’s concern for him may have saved her life and saved the lives of numerous others who might have been in his path had he continued his killing spree.

Some have foolishly tried to explain away the Faith aspect of this dramatic story, but it simply can not be done.  Ashley had no training to equip her to deal with a hostage situation.  In spite of her lack of training, she will be studied as a hostage success story and those who study the situation will not ignore any aspect of Ashley’s success.  If her Faith and genuine concern for her captor allowed Ashley to build the relationship with him that saved her life, honest students of her situation will acknowledge that and learn from it.  Only fools will ignore and criticize it.

Ashley not only managed to escape, but did so at a time of her choosing.  She had earlier opportunities to escape but made a shrewd tactical assessment that she could endanger herself, her captor, and law enforcement officials if she called for help at the wrong time.  She knew God could resolve the situation without further loss of life.  Where does such fearlessness and wisdom come from?  The apostle Paul showed this kind of wisdom in a story from Acts that also ended well.

Acts 16

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paulshouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

 

In my humble opinion, Ashley Smith’s story is one even greater than the story of David defeating Goliath.  Goliath was a champion warrior who challenged all of Israel.  David was an overmatched warrior, but still a warrior who answered the challenge of Goliath.  God guided David to victory with a sling and a stone.

I was not there when Goliath threatened Israel, but I was in Atlanta on the day of this ordeal.  I have never seen so many law enforcement officials patrolling the Georgia highways and the Atlanta area.  Without knowing what exactly had happened, I knew that every police officer and federal agent anywhere near Atlanta had been alerted to respond to something.  They had been alerted by man to answer Brian Nichol’s challenge.

Brian Nichols was a cold blooded killer who threatened all who crossed his path.  Ashley Smith, who was far from a traditional warrior, was alerted by God to answer Brian Nichol’s challenge.  God delivered Nichols to Ashley Smith’s apartment and guided this hostage hero to deliver Atlanta from this terror with pancakes and prayer. 

This would be a great ending to the story, but it is very possible that God will continue to use Ashley Smith.  And let us not limit God to using our hero.  If God uses Brian Nichols to advance his Kingdom, Nichols will not be the first murderer that God has used.  Moses, Saul of Tarsus (better known as Paul), and King David himself were all murderers who God used in powerful ways.  Can we show the courage Ashley Smith demonstrated and pray that God will use Brian Nichols to change lives while paying his debt to society and living out his remaining days on Earth in prison?