Speaking Life to Reflect the Value of Life

Almost 10 years ago, a very special boy named Kieran came into our lives. I was good friends with his mother Stacia McKeever, who formerly worked full-time for Answers in Genesis and now works as AiG’s VBS manager. This little boy was one of the most loving individuals I had ever met, and he and my daughter, Elizabeth, developed a special bond. But Kieran was missing something, specifically a large piece of DNA on one of his chromosomes resulting in Williams Syndrome, which helps account for his friendliness but also impairs him physically and mentally.

As author, coauthor, and contributor to many books, Stacia realizes the importance of words. How can we as Christians use our words to “speak life” and show that we value human life because all humans are made in the image of God? Stacia shared some thoughts on her presentation for this year’s Answers for Women conference:

Staci McKeever

Jesus taught that what we say reflects what is truly in our hearts (Luke 6:45). As those who embrace a pro-life worldview, our words and actions should reflect that we believe in our hearts that every person is made in the image of God from the moment of fertilization. For example, does calling a pregnant woman a “mom-to-be” really reflect that she is already a mother of a child? When we talk about the birthday of our first-born, do we say, “You made me a mom on this day”? What about saying, “I don’t care what gender it is, as long as it’s healthy?” Does this reflect a loving pro-life worldview regarding those with disabilities? Is it a good pro-life argument to claim that the life of a child with a disability has value (and is thus worthy of life) because of the blessing he is to his family and the contribution he makes to society? What about the casual, derogatory use of words like retard, idiot, and moron to describe our fellow image bearers?

While we don’t want to turn into word police, it’s important to be as accurate as we can be when we are discussing life issues, even in frivolous ways. Words are important to our Creator (he created with them and his Son is the Word) and they should be important to us too. Throughout the Bible, we are challenged to keep a careful watch on the words that come out of our mouths. This includes what we share on social media.

At the Answers for Women Life conference, I’ll be sharing our story with disability, discussing how that has influenced and changed how I speak about life, and evaluating some subtle and not-so-subtle ways our words may be in contrast to what we claim to believe. I hope you’ll join me as we dig into God’s Word to find out how we can Speak Life.

I’m really looking forward to Stacia’s presentation to help me be a better steward of my words so that I can truly reflect God’s heart for his image bearers. Register today for Life: Contending for Life from Beginning to End.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!