THE DIGNITY OF LIFE

I Was Just Thinking About – The Dignity Of Life.

Among the various religious movements and groups in this nation, several of them have addressed the critical issue of the dignity of life. One group makes this succinct statement: “Human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, and embryonic stem cell research. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

We would do well to remember Genesis 1:26-31 that God created man and woman in His image; Deuteronomy 10:17-19 that God loves the orphan, the widow and the stranger; and Psalm 139:13-16 that God formed and designed each of us and knows us intimately. 

The dignity of human life was front and center in a White House News Briefing where General John Kelly addressed the media about reactions to the deaths of four military men in Niger. He stated the following: “It stuns me that a member of Congress would have listened in on that conversation (the President’s Telephone Call). Absolutely stuns me. And I thought at least that was sacred. You know, when I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country. Women were sacred, looked upon with great honor. That's obviously not the case anymore as we see from recent cases. Life -- the dignity of life -- is sacred. That's gone. Religion, that seems to be gone as well. Gold Star families, I think that left in the convention over the summer. But I just thought -- the selfless devotion that brings a man or woman to die on the battlefield, I just thought that that might be sacred. And when I listened to this woman and what she was saying, and what she was doing on TV, the only thing I could do to collect my thoughts was to go and walk among the finest men and women on this Earth. And you can always find them because they're in Arlington National Cemetery. I went over there for an hour-and-a-half, walked among the stones, some of whom I put there because they were doing what I told them to do when they were killed.”

We read in Proverbs 31:1, 8-9 – “The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” The Book of James reminds and requires God’s people to emulate pure religion (James 1:27). 

Prayerfully – consider these things with me.