What is the value of life? This is a difficult question.
It’s the kind of question that depending on the various people you ask, you may
receive a million different responses. Not only is this question open-ended, it
is multifaceted. What do I mean by that? Take for example pro-life
organizations that argue against abortion. They argue that all human lives have
value because they’re created in the image of God. Certain animal rights
activists, on the other hand, will argue that animals have the same rights as
people. Some others would go so far as to argue that “Mother Earth” is more
important, thus arguing against overpopulation.
I could take the time to try to argue for or against these certain
varying opinions. Maybe I will another day. However, I believe it would be an
exercise in futility. People are going to have their opinions and very little
is going to sway them from their viewpoint. Can they be persuaded otherwise?
Yes, but there is only One who is capable of reaching down to the core of a
person’s heart and only He can change their belief system and help them to see
truth. God does value life and in Scripture has placed greater significance in
human life above all others. He values our lives so much so that the Gospels
tell us about the lengths God will go to redeem our lives.
The Bible talks about how God changes a person’s heart. He
does a miraculous thing when He introduces His Son, Jesus, into our world. Of
course, Jesus came in the form of flesh a couple thousand years ago. What I’m
talking about is our own individual little worlds. As we grow up as children,
we grow into intelligent beings with the ability to learn and create. We have
consciences that help us understand right from wrong. But we also have
something called a sin nature. Because of that sin nature, we find ourselves
living against, or contrary, to the character and will of God. This brings us
at odds with God as we are tainted by the world system. The Bible talks about
us being at enmity with Him. God, knowing our fallen nature, brought about a
plan to restore us into a right relationship with Himself. He sent Jesus to
take on the sin of the world and die in our place on a cross. He died as the
penalty for those sins. But God raised His Son from the dead, essentially
defeating death, hell, and our greatest enemy, Satan himself. What God did was
to essentially provide a way for us to be justified through Jesus. “For the
wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord.”
The issue for the world, however, is that it is turning
itself away from God and from His gift. The evidence of that is becoming
clearer by the day. Obviously, with all the terrorist activity from ISIS to
Boko Haram to Al Qaeda, among others, there are plenty of examples of the types
of atrocities man is capable of. Life is certainly a commodity to be exchanged,
extorted, and even written off when it comes to these types of organizations.
These are the sort of things we have come to expect in these remote parts of
the world distanced from civilized society. And this is true despite the fact
these activities sometimes hit closer to home.
But maybe the callousness of man’s heart isn’t so far
removed. In developed nations, we would certainly expect attitudes and
behaviors to be different than the thuggish and barbaric behavior of terrorists
in third world nations. However, the sin nature isn’t monopolized by
terrorists. It is alive and well in places like Ferguson, MO, Memphis, TN, and
even Des Moines, IA.
Of course, we can all point to criminal behavior that is
problematic in all small towns and cities. We all wag our fingers, shake our
heads, and belittle certain criminal elements that commit felonious acts in our
civilized societies. We tend to agree, on some levels, that there are certain
acts of behavior that is not acceptable and devalues life. Activities such as
rape, kidnapping, and murder are atrocities that we abhor. That’s why they’re
called crimes and are rightly punished under a court of law. (For now, let’s
make the assumption that the legal system works.)
Other activities and behaviors we may disagree with but too
often tolerate. When it comes to abuse, it takes an action that crosses the
line before we cry foul. Many kids in schools see this on a daily basis with
bullies and the like. We typically chalk it up as childish behavior and assume
they’ll grow out of it. However, more and more we see this same behavior in
adults displayed on national television. First, we found it entertaining on
shows like the Jerry Springer show. Then reality shows aired this adolescent
behavior on a regular basis and society began to see this as some kind of norm.
It isn’t until a sports figure beats his fiancé unconscious does our collective
conscious tell us something isn’t right. But then we find a way to excuse it,
move past it, and hope it doesn’t happen again. Nothing to see here folks, move
on.
Life is often devalued and diminished in ways that over time
we become desensitized to it. Homelessness, for example, has been a fact of
life as long as societies have existed. But how we respond to homelessness
certainly speaks volumes as to the kind of society we live in. Too often, we either
ignore the issue, pretend it doesn’t affect us, believe it’s too big a problem
to deal with, or attempt to ease our conscience in some small, insignificant
way (e.g. giving $10 or $20 to the Salvation Army during the holidays). These
are real people with real problems and in the United States we have plenty of
resources available to come up with real solutions. But because we don’t value
life the way we should, we ignore the problem or expect someone else, perhaps
the cold, heavy-handed government, to take care of the problem for us.
What are other ways we devalue life? Aren’t women
objectified in public and in the media? Somehow we have come to accept a
perverse view of sexualized behavior as normal. As a result, prostitution
(including the sex-slave trade), homosexuality (along with same-sex marriage),
and pornography (in its varied forms) no longer seem to carry the stigma that they
once did. In some ways, it seems it’s celebrated. Those that one would think (such
as progressive women) would find society’s treatment of women objectionable are
actually condoning this behavior. If you think differently, consider those who
are defending the novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.
In truth, life has become a commodity even in civilized
society. It has been marketed in a way to disguise the vulgar nature and shock
value. How else can a society comes to terms with treating abortions as some
kind of normalized behavior? Life, at this point, becomes measured in terms of
convenience or cost effectiveness. What is life’s value to society overall?
What can a person born in an inopportune time or with certain physical or
mental defects possibly contribute to society? This is a question recently
presented to a father whose son was born with
Down
syndrome. The wife, and mother of this child, determined this condition to
be so reprehensible to her that she provided an ultimatum to the father that it
was either her or the child.
The question for all of us is this, “What is happening to
us?” How did we get so far from God as to treat life as inconsequential? The
answer, despite our desire to think otherwise, is that sin is winning out. Our
hearts have become cold and insensitive to the things of God. Even as
Christians, we need to take stock of how life is valued. Christians typically
fight and defend life when it comes to abortion, the sex slave trade,
euthanasia, etc., but often we fail when it comes to the weightier matters of
life. How about eternal life? Most people recognize Penn Jillette of the
magician duo, Penn & Teller. Jillette is an atheist and often makes
references regarding religion that I find distasteful and completely disagree
with. But there is one
quote
that does speak volumes and every Christian ought to hear:
“I’ve always said that I don’t
respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you
believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or
not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them
this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people
shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to
yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do
you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell
them that?
“I mean, if I believed, beyond the
shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that
truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And
this is more important than that.”
The reality is that life, especially eternal life, is
something that should be considered with greater weight and significance than
we give it today. Society is failing and is only going to get worse. However,
what is more concerning is the attitudes of many Christians today, including
myself. If someone like Jillette, an atheist, can point out the problem of many
Christians’ lack of compassion, then it’s something that needs to be addressed
and dealt with. The Church has a problem and it needs Christians to get on
their knees and seek God’s compassion for people.
In a world that is dying and becoming increasingly
desensitized to the value of life, we need a spiritual barometer. Ultimately,
it’s only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that can change our
thinking and direction. But even as Christians, we need to stop and reflect on
our own attitudes and behaviors.
Dr.
Charles Stanley, a pastor, theologian, and author, has noted something
similar in regards to spiritual growth. Our spiritual growth should be
reflected in our desires, understanding, and selflessness to care for people
enough to meet their physical and spiritual needs.
What is happening to us? Hopefully, we’re being changed by
Christ. If not, then what we’re witnessing today will only get worse.
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