This past week I have been thinking a lot about matters of life and death. I attended a suicide intervention training event last week, listened to a presentation on prosecuting perpetrators of sexual assault, and participated in a hospital ethics committee discussion on Elective Termination.
It really is overwhelming. Emotionally it is all very sad. Mentally it is taxing to try to live into the experience of another in order to make good, wise choices. Spiritually it takes a toll on your soul to grapple with the brokenness of this world in such a tangible way.
In the end, however, it all comes down to one thing: Human life is valuable!
We seek to help people considering suicide because we believe that their life has inherent value as well as value to those around them. It is not just their life. Our lives belong to God and are shared with the people around us. Suicide is tragic because it affects so much more than just one life.
Similarly, we prosecute offenders who abuse others for their own pleasure because every human being is precious and deserves proper treatment. We cannot use others for own purposes without violating their unique personhood. This is also why prostitution and sex trafficking are so damaging to the soul of our society and must be stopped.
Finally, because life is valuable, elective termination is wrong. We don't get to decide who lives and who dies; that is God's territory. Our lives are in God's hands. It is one thing to choose to care for the mother more than the child during pregnancy because it is a matter of life and death. Yet it is quite another thing to act to purposely take the life of another. Every human life is valuable and precious and deserves every right to flourish.
I know this gets back to some of the things I said a few weeks ago, but I feel I must keep this conversation going. What do you think? I am interested to hear your thoughts, so I invite you to share them openly or privately at joekamphuis@comcast.net.
I look forward to greater understanding and appreciation as we journey together along the way ...