Nationwide this week, Christians have been marked with an ash cross on their forehead for the beginning of the Lenten season, and the White House is surely no exception. President Joe Biden, a professing Roman Catholic, attended Ash Wednesday service last year and told the press he was abstaining from ice cream during the 40 days of Lent.
His choice to forego a favorite dessert was a part of the Christian marking of the Lenten season as we remember the biblical episode in which Jesus prayed, fasted, and was tempted in the wilderness. We take this time to prepare our hearts for Easter, and Christians traditionally embrace four forms of Lenten discipline: repentance, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
In addition to whatever President Biden chooses as the object of his fasting this year, here are some humble suggestions for his three other areas of Lenten reflection:
Repentance: Christianity Opposes Murder
Repentance is a central, daily part of Christian life as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer to “give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” It is sincere contrition for sin, and it begins by acknowledging our wrongdoing. The Bible plainly shows we are to value every human life — it doesn’t get much clearer than ‘Thou shalt not murder’ — and Biden’s Roman Catholic Church is a great defender of this.
Yet, contrary to God’s righteous will, abortion has been a central theme of the Biden presidency as the Administration has seemingly pulled every string possible to support the killing of preborn children. Since the reversal of Roe, many government agencies have engaged in mental gymnastics to concoct measures which uphold abortion.
U.S. Attorney General Garland set up a task force to determine how to violate pro-life state laws while the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice looked away as abortion terrorists harassed and destroyed pro-life centers. They chose instead to zero in on peaceful pro-life activists, utilizing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act with unseen relish as 26 pro-life activists were charged with violations in 2022 alone.
The Department of Health and Human Services pledged their office would “plan for every action necessary” to keep abortion alive and well — they’ve certainly tried their best. The Food and Drug Administration has changed Chemical Abortion Pill regulations so that the life-ending drugs can be sent through the mail and dispensed by pharmacies while also lying that Plan B is no longer an abortifacient.
The list of pro-abortion actions by Biden’s Administration goes on, and God’s Law stands firmly in opposition to every one. In this season, it is time to realize how we have sinned against God (by sinning against the preborn and vulnerable women) and ask for forgiveness as we are taught in Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” (v. 10 – 11).
Prayer: For Every Life to Be Valued & Defended
The family structure in our society has cracked, and those in power play a role in that. The welfare state encourages men to abdicate fatherhood, and women are taught by a predatory abortion industry — propped up by taxpayer dollars — that motherhood is a crushing burden. President Biden publicly brands children conceived through sexual assault with their parents’ misdeeds, demonizing them as extensions of trauma before their birth. Children from consensual yet unexpected pregnancies aren’t considering blessings, either. Navy Jones Roberts, the granddaughter out of wedlock that President Biden refuses to recognize, is a prime example.
As we go to our Lord in prayer, President Biden and every Christian should remember Paul’s exhortation that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1 Tim. 2:1). Instead of scorning some based upon their conception and encouraging others to abandon their familial vocations, we should thank God for each life and pray for their protection.
Almsgiving: To Support the Needy
As a result of sin, death, and the devil, there are many in need. While the Scriptures are clear that “the righteous is generous and gives,” Christian conservatives argue that this guidance applies to the individual, not the government — but perhaps all of us can agree that the current levied taxes can be better directed.
In Planned Parenthood’s latest report from 2020 – 2021, the abortion giant amassed $633.4 million from taxpayers with the largest single source of their income coming from Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grants. But what if this money was used to fund organizations which help people instead of harming and killing them?
To offer authentic support, President Biden’s team should defund organizations which commit/refer for abortions and streamline cash to life-affirming organizations, such as pregnancy resource centers (PRCs). PRCs offer free services and resources for pregnant and parenting mothers, including ultrasounds, childcare, baby supplies, financial assistance, etc. This is truly loving our neighbor; not killing them but helping them.
As Joy Pullman wrote, “The purpose of Lent…is to focus your thoughts on Christ, and Him crucified for you. He comes to us because we cannot save ourselves, and He cares especially for the poor, broken, and lowly.” This Lenten season, all of Christendom, including President Biden, should learn from our Lord to care for the lowliest among us: the preborn.
Caroline S. Wharton is a Staff Writer and Press Strategist for Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action.