Not being much of a pro-sports fan, I had never heard of Matt Birk until just recently and still do not know much about him. The entry on him in Wikipedia indicates he is a very talented offensive lineman and center for the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens respectively who has won many awards, including the 2012 Super Bowl Championship. He began the HIKE Foundation in 2002. HIKE stands for hope, inspiration, knowledge and education. The HIKE Foundation “was established to impact the lives of at-risk children by providing interactive programs and resources needed to guide a child through the key educational transitions between elementary, middle, high school and college.” He is also the father of six children.
The reason I bring him up is because he has received some notice in the news lately because he refused to attend a meeting at the White House celebrating the Raven’s 2012 Super Bowl win. He explained why: “I wasn’t there. I would say this, I would say that I have great respect for the office of the presidency, but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, ‘God bless Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year. I am Catholic, I am active in the pro-life movement and I just felt like I couldn’t deal with that. I couldn’t endorse that in any way.”
Now, while I do not in any way support Catholicism, I do respect and commend Birk for standing up life. For this president to say publicly “God bless Planned Parenthood” is simply abhorrent. For those who believe in God and in His revealed will for man, the Bible, this is simply not an issue that is negotiable. Life is sacred. Even the Founders recognized this when they enshrined in our Declaration of Independence these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is truly more than tragic that this country now allows the murder of so many innocent children.
Birk has also been outspoken on other issues, as well. He has spoken and written for the defense of marriage and against homosexual marriage.
As I wrote earlier, I had not heard of Matt Birk until recently, but I am glad he has stood his ground on this important principle. I hope he does not now apologize for his stand as so many have done in the past. I doubt if he will. More Christians should find and exhibit the same kind of courage. We need men like the apostles who, when this government says “Don’t preach Jesus” will stand up and say “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 4:18-5:29).
Eric L. Padgett