“Deeds, Not Words.”

illustration by Viktor Miller-Gausa

Dale Mason
Publisher

George Washington lived by a simple yet profound motto: “Deeds, not words.”

Washington was born into a family and society that condoned and promoted slavery. When George was only 11 years old, his father died, and America’s future first president “inherited” several people. These humans—with hands, feet, and beating hearts—now legally belonged to a preteen who held the power to determine their earthly destiny. If one caused embarrassment or infringed on his time or finances, Washington could get rid of him. Today we cringe and yell, “Don’t follow that man! He couldn’t even see the terrible error of his ways!” Yet Washington was far from alone. Over 99% of his society identified as Christians,1 and the majority of those were pro-slavery as well.

But as he grew older, Washington came to loathe slavery and sought to see the “wicked, cruel, and unnatural trade”2 of slavery outlawed, and to implement a plan to educate those who knew no other way of living. After failing at both civil declaration (the Fairfax Resolves of 1774) and attempting to sell tens of thousands of acres to fund their release and education (in the 1790s), he finally directed in his will that freedom be granted to all 123 slaves he had the legal power to release. All children would be educated, and the old and infirm provided for from his estate.

Washington was the only slave-owning president to go beyond words with deeds that brought lasting freedom more than 60 years before the Civil War.

Washington’s early acceptance of slavery made me think of a current transgression, one that affects millions of lives as well. Today, too many Christians—even in theologically conservative churches—have become accustomed to living with the knowledge that abortion kills humans. Like Washington’s slaves, these humans have hands, feet, and beating hearts.

Many, like young Washington, have accepted the standards of our culture, which allow young women and their male partners to hide the evidence of unmarried intimacy by getting rid of the inconvenient, embarrassing, or financially stressful result—unborn babies.

I urge you to read and share the article on page 44. It’s an interview with Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood clinic director whose true story was depicted in the 2019 movie Unplanned.

To a large degree, abortion is today’s version of yesterday’s slavery. As Alveda King, niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., said recently, “The only other class of people who were treated as poorly as babies in the womb in modern history was slaves.”3

We would do well to remember the example of President Washington. It’s never too late to do what you can to help end such a national, moral failure.