When Bad Girls Become Moms

"When Bad Girls Become Moms" by Rev. A. Lamar Torrence, Pastor of Cross of Life Lutheran Church

1 Kings 3:17

I yet believe that the church, holder of the keys to heaven, is call to lead the world during this century. We, the bride of Christ, are to process down the isle of time, bringing new revelations of the Godhead to those standing on the sidelines. We are to be an intercessor for the sinner, a reconciler for the unforgiven, and the way home for lost. We are called to be the moral conscious of our society; the decision-makers of Christendom. The church is to hold that standard by which all humanity measures its self worth and moral actions. People will look to us for faith in times of uncertainty and hope in times of despair. The eyes of the world are upon us. We are being watched.

People from every walk of life are looking for the truth. They want to know the real deal. They want to know where they stand in the eyes of Lord. We often ask them the questions, “Are you on the Lord’s side?” But they want to know whether or not God is on their side? Is he still sovereign and sitting on the throne? Does he care and will he intervene? Inquiring minds want to know was the real deal with God and we must address their concerns. We must answer their question. Our heads can no longer be buried in the sands of indifference. Our ears can no longer be filled with a pretense of secluded deafness. We must loosen our tongues from their fearful silence speak solutions to the issues facing this generation. To reach them our dialogue must be real, relevant, and hardcore. Talking about sheep, fish, and mustard seeds will not reach today’s average dope pusher, junkie, and prostitute. Real life issues require real answers and not religious rhetoric and old cliches.

This is the situation in our text. We see hardcore people dealing with a tough situation and seeking a real solution. Two mothers come into the presence of King Solomon looking for answers to their plight. Each of them was a prostitute who worked the red light district. Each caught a work-related illness and had a baby out of wedlock. However, one died of being pressed by his mother while sleeping. You see they were too poor to have baby cribs and in order to protect their infants from ghetto rats, “they kept the babies at their side.” Now, each of two women insisted that the living baby was hers and Solomon had to judge who the true mother was.

Spiritual interpretation reveals that this biblical event serves as a paradigm for the modern church confronting tough issues. King Solomon represents what the church should be – the royal priesthood, rich in grace, heirs to the throne, using its God given talents to wisely lead humanity towards a better society. The two prostitutes symbolize the world in which we live– sinful in nature, lost in lust, and constantly in conflict. Here, we get a glimpse of what should happen when the saved encounters the unsaved. And like Solomon, we the saints must to intercede in the lives of hell raising sinners.

Like the prostitutes who came to Solomon, the world is invading the church. Those issues that we once thought would never affect our lives are now popping up on our doorsteps. AIDS, premarital sex, drug abuse, and crime are affecting us in suburbia. Furthermore, many of these current issues bring theological questions that are not always biblically clear. Every situation is not just black and white. There are gray areas. Thus, like the argument presented to King Solomon by the women, it is not always clear who’s right and who’s wrong. There are sound arguments to support the religious right as well as the liberal left. There are enough scriptures to support both the pro-lifers and pro-choice advocates regarding the issue of abortion. Physicians and theologians have debated before us regarding the humanity of euthanasia. Modern science and psychology are producing substantial evidence to consider same-sex relationships as viable unions before God. And, with STD’s, AIDs, and teen age pregnancy rates, advocating the use condoms may be more realistic and logical than teaching abstinence. These are the issues and the issues are tough.

So, one of the first lessons we learn from the lives of these bad girls turned moms is that we must take notice at the issues around us. For if we do not ignorance will give birth to conflict and chaos in our lives. Look at the text. These two women had to function as their own midwives and caretakers. Family had forsaken them. Friends had left them. They stand in a courtroom with no witnesses to support their claims. No one took notice of their situation. No one cared enough to get involved. None of their neighbors seem to have seen the babies born to these poor women. No one seems to have stared long enough at these newborn infants to tell them apart. They were just two more junkies giving birth to crack babies, two more teenagers getting pregnant before their time, two more mothers abandoned by men who couldn’t handle the responsibility.