Be Resolute About Life’s Value
Deuteronomy 5:17; 19:7-13; 24:6-7; Matthew 5:17-20
We live in tumultuous times that seem overwhelmingly complex. As we read our newspapers and watch the round-the-clock newscasts, we find ourselves longing for a respite from all of this turmoil. What are the right decisions about some of life’s most perplexing problems: the death penalty, immigration, gun control, rape, incest, child and spousal abuse, hunger and poverty? What is the proper balance between what is right for me as an individual and what is fair to the larger population? Our values are under constant attack.
In God’s Word, we find great foundational truths to guide us. God is always just. God always loves. God values his creation of human life. Life is sacred, and how we treat each other is of great concern to our Heavenly Father.
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day. The significance must not be lost on any of us who grew up during those painful days of the Civil Rights Movement. This champion of the movement was murdered in cold blood in direct opposition to God’s command. There are no “weasel words” in the commandment, “Thou shall not murder.”
The statistics about the number of murders on our streets are mind-numbing. It seems so easy to take another person’s life sometimes over only a few dollars. Neither you nor I pulled the trigger, but did we contribute to the permissive atmosphere that allowed it? Have you ever heard yourself say, “Someone should kill that person?” Have you excused the prevalence of cheap weapons on our streets by uttering the dismissive comment, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people”? Sometimes I am horrified to hear myself saying, “He got what was coming to him.”
I am greatly troubled by the level of rage in our society. Bullying both in schools and at work has created a toxic environment. I must do whatever I can to help create an environment where everyone is safe to live and work productively. Disrespect for one another often leads to tragedy.
I taught an adult Sunday school class for many years. I was shocked one Sunday morning when one of our members said, “The person who murdered a worker in an abortion clinic was justified because he had committed so many murders. His murder will prevent many more deaths.” He was arguing for his personal ideas of justice as opposed to the established rules of society.
When I was a boy, I was sometimes punished for something that I did not do. When I pleaded my cause of unjust punishment to my father, I knew what his response would be. “Well, I’m sure that I missed some things that you should have been punished for.”
Unlike our uneven laws and our erratic application of justice, God’s laws are always just and always tempered with mercy. Just as God provided sanctuary cities for the children of Israel, he has provided a path to forgiveness and redemption for us through his son Jesus.
Carnell– Lessons in the ETB series for the winter quarter are being written by Mitch Carnell, member of First Baptist Church, Charleston.