What is the Battle? That is a reasonable question as there are multiple battles raging in society today at the same time, on different subjects – at the federal level, state level and local level.
These battles are about issues that have been fought over for decades, some with a new twist these days and even new subject matter. They have been fought for so long that people of my generation wonder how these topics can even be a matter still being discussed.
I want to explore a few of these raging battles.
The raging battles
In Texas, we do not have year-round legislative sessions. Odd numbered years in Texas are when the Texas Legislature meets for 120 calendar days, starting on the second Tuesday of January. Just as in the past years, the legislature met again in 2023 and, again, many political battles were fought.
Anything of controversy usually split along party lines – Republican vs. Democrat. 
When I was a House member in the 1970s, 1980s and even early 1990s, battles were fought on a conservative vs. liberal basis.
Quite often the party not in control uses all means at its disposal to stop the legislative battle from coming to a final vote. Those vehicles for eluding a vote include using the rules, parliamentary procedure, or a committee chair who just won’t set a bill for hearing.
These tactics were employed this year—in 2023—on two concurrent resolutions I was working on with the resolutions’ authors, Representative Tom Oliverson and Senator Tan Parker, to place a statue of “mother and child” in the Capitol Complex.
The battle of the Mother and Child statue in Texas
The mother and child statue expresses—without words—the essential role that women play as a mother and the reality that without children the human race will become extinct.
The resolution passed the Senate on a 20-10 vote and passed out of the House Committee 6-1 but was never placed on the calendar to be finally considered by the full House.
Hopefully the authors will reintroduce the resolution in a Special Session later this year. The Governor has told me the resolution has his support.
It is a beautiful statue and recognizes such a vital part of Texas history – past, present and future. Please pray that this will become a reality.
The battle of abortion in each individual state
Another battle still raging is the aftermath of the Dobbs decision of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision and returning the issue of abortion to the states to determine how abortion will operate in a given state, whether the state will not allow an abortion to be performed in that state, or whether or not that state assigns a mandatory wait period or other restrictions to be placed before an abortion is allowed.
I have been a strong opponent of abortion since Roe v. Wade was handed down and, in fact, 50 years ago I carried the first pro-life bill in Texas following the Roe v. Wade decision – that bill was to protect each person’s freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. 
Those same issues are still part of the battles today!
When my wife, Pat, and I were in Washington DC for the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, it was inspiring to see the hundreds of young Americans there standing up in support of life.
A spiritual, religious battle
There is such vitriol expressed by the abortion advocates aimed at pro-life individuals and organizations.
I never focused on this being a religious battle until recently, when reading Jesus Shock, a book by renowned author Peter Kreeft, professor at Boston College. It is extremely well-written!
Near the end of the book, Kreeft describes the ongoing battle as follows:
Christ’s “this is My Body, given up for you” is one side in the war.
The other side, the side He came to earth to defeat and to free us from, also says “This is my body,” but means exactly the opposite thing by it; not the self-sacrifice of the martyr, but the arrogant pride of the egotist.
The spirit of Antichrist says, through his deluded slaves who think they are asserting their freedom, “This is my body, not Yours. You did not create me. You have no rights over me. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. When I die, I will not repent in shame but I will hold my head erect and sing ’I did it my way’ as I enter the realm of my chosen lord and model, Satan, who did exactly that same thing many eons ago. This is my body, and therefore I will fornicate, contracept, sodomize, or commit suicide as I choose. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. I will do whatever I please with my body because it is mine, not Yours. In fact, the tiny child I carry in my womb is also mine, not Yours. She is not even her own. She is mine. She is my body. Therefore I will kill her, because I am her God, and You are not.”
You see, abortion is the Antichrist’s demonic parody of the Eucharist. That is why it uses the same holy words, “This is my body,” with the blasphemously opposite meaning.
This is tough language to read and needs to be deeply reflected. It makes great sense when we ponder all the efforts to make America in particular, but the entire world, a godless existence.
Do not misunderstand me. I have the greatest empathy and compassion for any woman who has experienced an abortion. It is my hope that one day, when the element of financial gain is removed from the pro-abortion advocates, abortion can become unthinkable.
The work of the St. John Paul II Life Center continues to expand. The number of clients served has significantly increased since the Dobbs decision. This expansion of services is driving our need for more staff and more space. We are looking at acquiring our own building, and I will be sharing more about this in next month’s article.
Staying anchored in hope, positivity, love
It is so important in today’s world that we keep a positive attitude. The following is great advice offered from the Word For Today.
Keeping a positive attitude isn’t always easy: It requires mental discipline.
Let’s face it, 95% of what we see and hear on the news today is negative. And while you can’t bury your head in the sand, you must protect your mind against the gravitational pull of negative influences around you. This calls for constantly doing two things:
(1) Arresting the wrong thoughts. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2Co 10:5). Take your wrong thoughts captive; otherwise they will take you captive!
(2) Activating the right thoughts. “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things… and the God of peace will be with you.” (Php 4:8-9 NKJV).
Knowing that God is in control of your life and that He is directing your steps will enable you 
to keep a good attitude when you’re faced with things like long lines, bad weather, difficult relationships, illness, trials, and adversities.
Your attitude not only affects the quality of your life but also the length of it, as Solomon said, “A heart at peace gives life to the body.” “A relaxed attitude lengthens…life.” (Pr 14:30 TLB).
Pat and I have recently seen the movie, “Sound of Freedom.” We highly recommend it to you. It explores sex trafficking, another raging battle of our time. May Jesus Christ bless and protect those who are victims of this battle.
RELATED RESOURCES:
- Jesus Shock, by Peter Kreeft
View Articles If you’ve met Tim, you know that his life was shaped by good values that were imparted to him by his parents and he... MORE »
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