Valuing All Life

Abortion has been a hot-button topic for decades now. In today’s time, it seems to be the main political talking point. People on either side of the Right for Life debate are very passionate about their beliefs, myself included. When I hear a pro-abortionist speak about the “pros” of abortion, it makes my head spin! I know I have the choice to either get mad/hateful or take a deep breath, say a prayer and approach the conversation from a rational place. I am choosing the latter.

Today, however, I want to have a conversation about what it means to value life. All of it. This conversation is not just about abortion, it’s about capital punishment, homicides, abusive behavior, neglect, and various forms of self-harm. We tend to emphasize the focus on abortion when we speak of the right to life, but valuing life encompasses all of it. One of the main reasons we have so many deaths by homicides, abuse, neglect, and self-harm is because too many people do not value life. They see it as disposable or they have a “who cares” attitude. To some extent, mental illness is a factor for all of the above mentioned, but it is never an excuse. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Ps.34:17-20. The Lord will indeed deliver us out of all of them; we, however, must humble ourselves and ask Him.

What does it mean to value life? To answer this question, I want to look at it from the lens of both humans and God. First, let’s see it from our human eyes. Although it is sinful, many people are prejudiced against others who are different from them. When prejudices come into focus, many will choose to lessen the life of that person based on how they perceive him or her. This reminds me of a story I heard on the Ascension Press YouTube channel several years ago. A monk talked about his experience doing mission work in India. While there, it came to his attention that an entire group of people dwelled below ground. He was horrified, to say the least. The community in which they lived shunned them and regarded them as “subhuman.” According to some who lived in this region, those who dwelled below the ground literally did not matter. Only certain human lives were deemed valuable.

Now let us look through God’s eyes:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

God will always see our value and worth because He loves us more than we can fathom, more than we deserve. I am so grateful He sees beyond my sinful nature and loves me regardless. If only we could do the same for all people. Despite the number of people who do not value life, I believe there are more of us in the world who do. We have more good than evil. Unfortunately, evil is more newsworthy or oddly inviting to us. The news media, social media, and television shows will talk ad nauseam about all that is wrong or bad about humans. Investigation Discovery is a very popular television channel. The whole premise of the show, in essence, is about people who do not value life. Yet we consume hours and hours of it! I too am guilty of going down the rabbit hole of all things related to true crime, evil, and people doing bad things. I get it. However, I also know if we are not careful, desensitization will happen before we even realize it. Let us all do what we can to prevent this from happening.

Brothers and sisters, if you struggle to value all life I encourage you to first earnestly ask God to guide you with his love in this matter. Secondly, take a moment to evaluate how you value your own life. Lastly, when you are seeing through your lens and passing judgment, close your eyes and picture Jesus before you.