For those of you who are faithful readers of my column, from time to time I have to get a few things off my chest. If the thought of that nauseates you I would suggest that you stop reading at this time.

The past month has been one of the most gut wrenching periods of my life as it pertains to ethics and morals.

Ethics is basically how we live out our moral presuppositions as individuals, as Church and as a society. In the past thirty days another anniversary of Roe vs. Wade has come and gone while thousands of babies are still being murdered each day.

A woman in Texas was executed while people stood outside the prison and cheered and we were subjected to our country being drug through the mud due to disgusting allegations about the President.

What saddens me almost as much as the above mentioned events is it appears that most of the American people either approve or don't care.

Several years ago I began to see every person that I met not as strangers but as family. At times that decision has been more of a curse than a blessing. If every person was simply a "thing" to me than what happened to them would be of no consequence because there would be no connection, earthly or spiritual, between them and me.

You must know that when I say that I am "Pro Life", I mean in all aspects of life. I believe that it is wrong to kill a human being whether they are in or out of the womb. I also am "Pro Life" when it comes to helping those who have a poor quality of life because of bigotry, prejudice and economic injustice. I believe that in all these areas apathy in the face of relievable human suffering is sinful.

The same day I drove by St. Theodores Catholic Church in Moss Bluff and saw the 4,400 crosses on their lawn signifying the number of children murdered each day through abortion, I had also been asked to pray for a three month old little girl named Megan who was about to have open heart surgery. The same society who would allow one child to be murdered would solicit the finest physicians and spend thousands of dollars to save another child.

COME HOLY SPIRIT...AND MAKE IT QUICK!

As I watched the last few minutes of a womans life in Texas unfold, let me emphasize that I also grieved with the families of the people she murdered over a decade ago. I heard people who were obviously in favor of her execution say "that it says in the Bible an eye for an eye". They neglected to say that Jesus, the Savior of the world told each one of us to "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you."

People would argue that we live in a democracy and these laws are a result of the will of the people. If that is true maybe we should be able to see first hand what the so called will of the people has produced. I wonder if people could watch an abortion and an execution on the six o'clock news if the will of the people would remain the same.

Another saddening element in this whole matter is that many of the same people who go into church each Sunday and claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior and ask Jesus for mercy for their lives refuse to do the same for others.

COME HOLY SPIRIT...AND MAKE IT QUICK!

On January 1st of this year as I made my New Years resolutions for 1998, I asked the Lord to allow me for one minute to see through His eyes and hear through His ears. I think that the reason I am currently so sad is that He has honored the desire of my heart. In the eyes of God and mine we are all family, brothers and sisters connected by a spiritual umbilical cord.

In the past month I have seen family killing family and heard family scream "crucify her" to another family member. I have seen the eyes and ears of family members grow apathetic to the homeless, hungry and abused.

Unfortunately I don't feel any better after writing this column because I know when I wake up tomorrow more babies will be murdered, my sister in the Lord in Texas will still be dead and thousands of my other family members will once again go hungry or remain homeless and be abused by people in power who only are concerned about their own well being.

It was much easier to see and hear life through my own eyes and ears. Be careful what you pray for because spiritual corrective lenses and a divine hearing aid will leave your life changed forever.

COME HOLY SPIRIT...AND MAKE IT QUICK!

Glenn Harmon © 2002