THE VALUE OF LIFE
By Pastor Jim May
Life is a precious thing. All too often we take it for granted, especially when things are going well, or when we are young. We never give a thought to death and the things of eternity. It isn’t until we start getting a little older and whole lot wiser, that we begin to realize just how valuable and how fragile life can be.
Right now there is a battle going on in our nation, and the outcome of that battle could very well set the stage for our congress to determine who, and who is not, worth saving in the event of a prolonged illness. It can also set the stage for determining who will receive treatment, and what kind of treatment they will be allowed, in the event of a terminal illness.
It seems that the value of life has grown cheap in our country today. There was a time when no one in America would have placed a price on life, but those days are over now. The number one determining factor in whether to preserve life or allow it to die, is the cost of medication and treatment. Sad to say, most of us would not be worth saving for very long if we were to go on the opinion of the medical insurance companies.
From the very young, even the unborn, to the very old, we have begun to place a price tag on life and found the price tag just a little too high.
Those who have no power to defend themselves are the first to be killed. According the National Right to Life Organization, there have been more than 40 million abortions in the 26 years since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized unrestricted abortion on January 22, 1973.
Right now there is a very real problem that our nation is trying to deal with and that’s the impending bankruptcy of the Social Security System in the United States. According to experts, in the year 2018 Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in payroll taxes. In 2042, it will be able to cover only about 73% of benefits owed, unless changes are made. Current retirees and those nearing retirement will be safe for now, but there will be nothing left for our children and grandchildren without a major overhaul of the system and the way it is managed.
Why do you suppose that there is not enough payroll tax collected to cover Social Security? A large part of the reason is that we have killed over 40 million people who could have held jobs and paid payroll taxes. Killing of the unborn has paid a large part in bringing us to this point in our economy.
The irony of it is this. If we were to take age 25 years old as being the average age of those who voted for, fought for and supported Abortion Rights in 1973 when the law was passed; and project that into the future, to the year 2018; those same people who voted in abortion will be ready to retire or just retired at age 70, and that’s when the system will go bankrupt. In effect, they have cancelled their own retirement.
First it was the unborn who were counted as unworthy to live. Then came the elderly and terminally diseased because of the high cost of medicine and doctors. Insurance companies, trying to keep their heads above water financially, began to determine who would, and who would not, survive by refusing to cover some of the treatments necessary.
Now we see that our courts are deciding that those who are infirm, un-useful, and unable to defend or speak their own opinions are being targeted, such as in the case of Terri Schaivo down in Florida right now. She is being allowed to starve to death for the reason of expediency, medical costs and her apparent inability to improve in her health.
Now I’m not going to pass judgment upon anyone who decided to allow machines to keep them alive or to pull the plug. That’s a choice between you, your family and the Lord. It would be hard decision to allow someone to die if there was even a glimmer of hope. But none of us, I think, would want to watch a loved one linger at death’s door for years, kept alive only by machines. I for one, wouldn’t want to put my family though that.
But at what point do we give up? At what point do we say, “that’s enough”? That’s the hard part – knowing when to say enough is enough.
For Christians, who believe in the power of God to heal; who believe that God can perform miracles; and who believe in the absolute sanctity of life, the choice must be made based upon God’s Word and not upon emotions or personal desires. Any such decisions have to be made with the will of God as the number one goal.
I pray that none of us will ever have to make that call, but if we do, I pray that we pray until we know God’s will and have perfect peace in our decision. No matter what we must decide, we must know that if it is God’s will for someone to recover, they will, if not, then God will call them home. We have the power over life or death but our power can be overridden by God’s power if He so chooses.
Even in the case of Terri Schiavo; if God wants to perform a miracle and allow her to live, then there is no power on earth that can kill her. If God wills that her time has come, then no power on earth can stop death from claiming her. It is still God who gives life and God who takes life. It’s the amount of treatment and suffering that we can manage to cope with that is the real trouble. My prayers are with that family and many more like them, who have to face these hard decisions every day.
Life isn’t fair and the decisions that we have to make are often very hard. Until we have walked in their shoes, let us not be quick to pull the plug, or too quick to surrender the fight for those who want to live.
For Christians the choice is easier, for we know that our loved one will go to a better place and we shall see them again in Heaven. But for those who don’t know the Lord, the decision is so much more final. I just pray that none of us will be found in that position to make that choice on behalf of someone else.
If that day should come, let us err on the side of life. I would rather see us stand before God and answer for trying to help someone stay alive than to stand before him and answer for contributing to their death.
The thing that is frightening about all of this is that this case may be the vanguard of a whole new way of thinking about life and those who are unable to voice their opinions. Could this trigger a long list of people who want to pull the plug just for the sake of expediency? Could it be that someone just doesn’t want to be bothered with long-term care? What’s the next step? Could it be that some political force could suddenly say that only the perfect people deserve the best health care and everyone else has to be limited? Who determines who the perfect people are? Is there any doubt in your mind that you probably would not be on that list?
Don’t think that it can’t happen! All we have to do is look back at Hitler’s Germany in World War II to see just how inhumane man can be to man.
When you couple this with the thought that Christians are going to face tremendous persecution in the end times, and some already are, where does that leave you and I? Are we going to be next on the list for annihilation because we are branded as “troublemakers” and “out of step with the times”. The possibility already exists!
When I think of the elderly, and like it not, I’m getting to be one of them, I wonder at what “age” we will be considered no longer useful to society. I feel like calling my Senator and Congressmen and saying to them what someone else said that I read about.
An 86-year-old woman wrote this note to her Senator.
”Sir, don’t ever forget about us old folks. We are worth a fortune. We have silver in our hair, gold in our teeth, stones in our kidneys, lead in our feet, and gas in our stomachs.” She went on to say, “I’ve become quite a frivolous old gal as I have grown older. As a matter of fact, I’m seeing five different gentlemen every day. When I get up, Will Power gets me out of bed. Then I immediately go see John. A few minutes later Mr. Charley Horse comes along and makes things exciting for a while, then, when he leaves, Arthur Itus shows up. Finally, after entertaining these fellows all day, I’m so tired, I go to bed and there I fall asleep with Mr. Ben Gay.”
So how valuable is life? If you want to know how valuable time and life are then listen to this:
To realize the value of four years: Ask a college graduate.
To realize the value of one year: Ask a student who has failed a final exam.
To realize the value of nine months: Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born child.
To realize the value of one month: Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of one week: Ask the man who has been given 6 weeks to live
To realize the value of one hour: Ask the couple who are waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin
To realize the value of one minute: Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realize the value of one-second: Ask a person who has a near miss accident.
To realize the value of one millisecond: Ask the person who has to settle for a silver medal in the Olympics.
To realize the value of a life: Ask God what it cost Him to buy your salvation.
How valuable is your life? Would you give up a leg, two legs, an arm or perhaps both arms, your sight, or your hearing – if it meant doing so to stay alive?
Life is precious! Life is wonderful! Life is grand! And, for the Christian, life is eternal!
In John 10:10 Jesus says, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
God loves life. He is the author of life. God thinks that life is so valuable that He gave his only begotten Son on the cross so that we could have life eternal. Since we are made in the image of God, according to Genesis 1:27, and we are adopted into the Family of God, according to Romans 8:15, then it is only natural to us that we love life and live it to the fullest.
1 Peter 3:10-11, "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it."
I look around and it seems that so many people really don’t love life.
Have you ever asked anyone how they were doing and then wished that you hadn’t? Be careful because some folks will tell you more than you care to know. It’s as though they haven’t seen a good day in years. Because they feel victimized, the only words coming out of their mouth are negative. They are focused on the evils of life and they don’t see the goodness in life that God has provided for all of us.
When mankind gets to the place where he no longer values life, then death will reign.
Why do we see abortions, murders, genocide and war? Mankind has lost his identity as God’s creation and is now taught that he is just a little better than a monkey. He is taught that he crawled out of some primeval swamp, developed legs over many millennia and eventually stood up and became what he is today. If we believe that we are no more than a product of evolution and not created in the image of God, then life becomes no more precious to man than to an insect.
Life’s real value can only be seen and understood if we look at life with the mind of the Spirit. God created life and he has put a high value upon His creation. Can we do any less?
In closing, let me tell you a story.
In God’s plan, Mandy lived only two years before her little body was overcome by a bout with pneumonia. But those two years were filled with the realization of God’s purposes for her.
Christians in the medical community who treated Mandy came forward to tell Mandy’s parents that they were praying for them. Baby Mandy quickly became “the church’s kid,” often being passed from lap to lap during the church’s worship services. Strangers would see her and inquire about her condition, which often led to the deeper questions of why does this happen? What can we learn from her? Where do her parents get the strength to care for her?
Even during her last hours in the hospital, Mandy was visited by a stream of people who sensed their need to be with her, to make their own confessions, and to try to draw near to God and get some kind of understanding of why this was happening.
After Mandy died, her dad wrote, “God’s assignment for Mandy was to live without many of the resources I previously took for granted. But His purpose for her was just as significant as it is for any of us. Could a sightless, wordless, helpless infant who lived to be only two years old ever be a ’successful human being? Could that young life count for anything?" Then he wrote these words, “If success is fulfilling God’s purposes, I think that Mandy’s life was wildly successful.”
Human life is sacred not because of what we can do, but because of what we are.
According to 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, "…But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."
We dare not choose differently, and we dare not demean those who bear the Creator’s image and live in the Creator’s plan. Life is a very valuable thing and let’s not let the news media or the attitude of the world, or the courts of our land make it into something that we just throw away.
God loves each of us and he came so that we could have life and live life abundantly and forever!
