The Value Of Life Series

How about the guy who cuts you off on the Interstate? Or the driver who just sits there when the light turns green? Guess what, they’re worth that much, too. And so is every man and woman who irritates you, who frustrates you, and even those who may ridicule and abuse you.

III. Developing a Respect For Human Life

You see, ultimately, the sixth commandment is about more than just murder. Which is a shame because I can feel rather self-righteous because I’ve never murdered anybody. Ultimately the sixth commandment has to do with the respect I have for people and the value I place on their lives.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ’Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ’You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:21-23)

I think what Jesus is saying is that when we get this angry with someone then deep down inside we’re thinking that this person doesn’t deserve to be alive. In that instant of anger, we’re saying, "I don’t want to have anything to do with this person....as far as I’m concerned my life would be better if his life would end." And perhaps we have been at that point more often than we’d like to admit. If we’re not careful, we can live our lives motivated by anger and hatred.

But I would suggest that the principle of the sixth commandment even goes beyond that. It is a call to respect people and care about them.

That means that if we want to see the true value of human beings, we need to see them from God’s perspective. Because the only way to truly cherish the lives of other people is to see each and every person the way God sees them: made in his image, and worth more than the life of his only Son.

It is amazing to me how pertinent the Bible is to our life and struggles today. Like it was “Ripped from today’s Headlines.”

Terri Schiavo suffered massive brain damage 15 years ago when, at the age of 26, her heart stopped beating. That event left her brain deprived of oxygen for an extended period. Since 1990, she has been in what medical officals calls a "persistent vegetative state". She is no longer in contact – either by intellect or by will – with the world around her.

As with most people in their twenties, Mrs. Schiavo had not documented her wishes as to whether she wanted to be kept alive under such an unlikely set of circumstances. Her husband, Michael, says she communicated her wishes to him more than once. But her parents refuse to accept his account. Seven years and 19 judges into their bitter family wrangling, the judicial system said it is acceptable to discontinue life support and to remove a feeding tube that has been keeping Mrs. Schiavo’s body functioning.

Not only physicians but the rest of us are smart enough to know the difference between protecting, enhancing, and empowering a human life with reasonable hope of recovery and merely prolonging the process of dying. Skill and technology that help our recoveries are admirable and ethical; the same skill and technology used to prolong our dying are unnecessary and ill-advised.