If you watched the Super Bowl then chances are you saw this commercial from the “He Gets Us” campaign. Sure, it didn’t get as much attention as Taylor Swift, but lots of pro-life people are talking about this.
The ad simply shows people who are drastically different from each washing each other’s feet as Christ did. It says Christ didn’t show hate, he showed love. It then directed you to its website about loving your neighbor as yourself.
For those who are not Christian or are unfamiliar with feet washing, it signifies showing love for someone by lowering yourself to being like a servant. Like Christ did. The Christian website, GotQuestions.org has the following to say about foot washing:
“In the society of the time, foot-washing was reserved for the lowliest of menial servants. Peers did not wash one another’s feet, except very rarely and as a mark of great love…By washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus taught the lesson of selfless service that was supremely exemplified by His death on the cross…To refuse to follow the example of Jesus [humility and servitude] is to exalt oneself above Him and to live in pride.”
Jesus is often called the suffering servant. He tells us to imitate Him. It is important to note that He didn’t just wash the feet of those who believed in Him, he also washed the feet of Judas who He knew would betray him. The whole point is that He lowered himself below his status to serve and be an example of the unconditional love of God to the world.
In addition to seeing a commercial that beautifully illustrates the teachings of Jesus Christ and what it should look like today, I also loved how it accurately portrayed the pro-life movement.
As someone who has spent over a decade doing work in the pro-live movement, I absolutely loved how this ad showed two prominent factors of the pro-life movement.
The first image shows a suburban housewife washing the feet of a single mother who appears to be homeless with her baby. This is a great representation of what many pro-life organizations do in helping mothers before snd after they have their children. Organizations like Human Defense Initiative and Let Them Live help them with counseling and material needs. Students For Life’s Standing With You program focuses on supporting mothers who find themselves pregnant while in college. I’ve worked alongside many of these and they do amazing work caring for the women and children.
The second image shows a pro-life woman washing the feet of either an abortion-minded woman or a woman who has just had an abortion. This also showcases the great love and compassion pro-lifers have for helping women. Sidewalk Counselors (not to be confused with the protesters the media focuses on), are often praying for and talking with women, as well as offering them help. Pregnancy Resource Centers help those very women and also offer post-abortive counseling for them, usually led by those who have experienced the same thing in the past.
I was blown away that this was shown. And the comments on a TikTok video I did further prove that most Americans don’t really know what the vast majority of the pro-life movement does. It seems as though most Americans think pro-life people just yell at women, protest in front of abortion clinics, and hate those who have had abortions. Why? Because that’s what the media likes to focus on. The peaceful loving pro-life people do not fit the narrative that the media wants to portray. I remember taking Introduction to Journalism from my college’s head journalism professor and he taught that you stick to the story you want to tell. He told us that if there are facts, witnesses, or details that don’t line up with your angle, then you simply ignore them. I’ve seen that first hand. When I led a pro-life organization my number was given to a BBC reporter who was doing a short video series about abortion in the southern United States. We talked for about an hour on the phone and I told her how my view of abortion was from the science of embryology and that our organization focused on education and helping pregnant moms. She was shocked because she had never heard that view before. She said she’d love for me to be interviewed for the video, but only on the condition that I come to an abortion clinic and protest outside it. That wasn’t what my organization did, so I declined. My thoughts and actions didn’t fit the angle she was told to focus on, so therefore, she couldn’t use me. My view wasn’t controversial enough to be entertaining. I wasn’t making a scene and yelling at women. I actually cared. And that isn’t how the media portrays pro-lifers.
All that being said, I’m so happy that this video played during the Super Bowl so Americans could see a glimpse of what the pro-life movement actually does.
I am also thankful that two of the major pro-life organizations, Students For Life of America & March For Life have been highlighting and sharing the ad showing how it beautifully showcases what we do. I pray that more can see the great work that we do for the preborn and their mothers.
The View Point 