Gendercide Through Kingdom Eyes
March 10, 2010
The cover story of this week’s issue of The Economist is titled “Gendercide,” and highlights the massive gender gap in China, India, and other Asian and European countries due to gender-based abortions of female babies. Consider this staggering projection: in 10 years, China will have as many unmarried male adults as the United States has male adults. These “bare branches” are the result of decisions made 20-30 years ago by parents who wanted their “one child only” to be a male, not a female. In India, doctors back in the 80’s began advertising the benefits of ultrasounds with the slogan, “Pay 5,000 rupees ($110) today and save 50,000 rupees tomorrow,” boasting the ease of getting out of paying a dowry by aborting baby girls.
The unintended consequences of such social trends have not only resulted in a bounty of unmarried men. According to The Economist, “The crime rate has almost doubled in China during the past 20 years of rising sex ratios, with stories abounding of bride abduction, the trafficking of women, rape and prostitution. A study into whether these things were connected concluded that they were, and that higher sex ratios accounted for about one-seventh of the rise in crime. In India, too, there is a correlation between provincial crime rates and sex ratios.” [See article here]
This article sent me through a whirlwind of emotions. At first I resonated with the fury of the commenter who pointed out the hypocrisy of promoting a woman’s “right to choose” then showing moral outrage at the choices women have made. Knowing this is logical yet too simplistic, I then moved to the overwhelming intellectual task of processing all the accompanying social, economic, and cultural issues in these nations that drive families to such decisions. Once my mental engine was flooded, it seemed that the only remaining options were to despair or ignore the issue altogether.
Into this confusion came the words of Jesus that speak of how we as members of the kingdom of God are to live in this present sin-soaked age. We call them the beatitudes. Consider with me how some of these kingdom mindsets affect how we respond to issues like Gendercide.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit…”
Is my first reaction to lash out at others or to consider my own moral bankruptcy apart from the grace of God? When Jesus was told about the Galileans who Pilate killed while they were offering sacrifices, his response to them was not to riot against “those people.” Rather, he said, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Are there areas of my life where I need to repent? Even if I have not condoned an abortion, am I guilty of a similar sin of ruling my own life in rebellion to God’s rule?
“Blessed are those who mourn…”
Do I embrace this as another opportunity to engage the sorrow of living in an age when God’s kingship is rejected? Do I weep for the babies whose lives were snuffed out before (or at times as soon as) they saw daylight? Do I groan for the mothers who are carrying around guilt and pain for aborting their daughters, many of whom perhaps had no choice in the matter? Do I grieve for the broader societal issues that create an environment where such decisions are made? Does my heart lean forward to God’s perfected kingdom and cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!”?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”
With brokenness and mourning as my posture, will I seek to be a voice for the voiceless? Will I speak against the horror of this mass slaughter of daughters? Will I channel my energies and resources toward engaging issues like Gendercide? Will I be willing to open my eyes to gender bias in my world and embrace how the devaluation of females can lead to such injustice?
May we learn from Jesus how to confront the issues of our day with minds and hearts fixed under his rule and with voices confessing in all areas of life, “Jesus is Lord!”
Pastor Chris