Do you believe that all human life is precious? This upcoming week is celebrated by many as Sanctity of Human Life week. It is a time to reflect upon and celebrate the wonderful gift God has delivered in the human person. I am convinced that every human is uniquely and wonderfully made by God and should be valued by the rest of us.
One of the things that fascinates me the most is how something that is a moral issue of right and wrong gets thrown into the political arena and 
then is somehow transformed. It seems that once the pundits have tossed around critical heart level issues on their television shows a few times or more, there is a sense that they own the topic. Then there is a sentiment that when a local church talks about these issues, somehow it has gone political. When candidates discuss the issue and take sides, the local pastor and church lay person come into greater risk of being accused of promoting a candidate. What’s even worse is that some spiritual leaders never address the real issues at all.
One of the critical issues that America is facing today is that of the sanctity of human life; all human life on some level, everyone respects human life, at least one’s own life. They tend to like themselves. Therefore there is a usual priority to make sure one eats, sleeps, is groomed, and safe, etc. Their struggle is over whether others get the same privilege. Some want the option to terminate the life of others if deemed necessary. They like the right to choose. Again, this goes back to the people who are consumed with loving themselves. Whether we are protecting the life of the unborn, the elderly, or the handicapped, or any other weaker members of humanity, there is a shocking confusion pervading our culture regarding right and wrong.
The message of God says to “choose life.” You may think that the Bible is irrelevant since it was written so long ago. But that isn’t true at all. It is God’s message to us to reveal his heart on matters. There have always been people willing to sacrifice the babies and the elderly for the sake of comfort and convenience. There have always been those who dominate for the sake of expedience. Genocide and similar travesties have always existed among the wicked. And their actions were always justified by the outcome of a seeming greater good. The devil is a liar.
The Scriptures have numerous examples of darkness of mind falling upon a culture. It is part of a cycle of deterioration of a society that we have seen numerous times before. Interestingly, a redefinition and revaluation of marriage, as between one man and one woman, is another characteristic of social decline. Once thriving cultures have been eradicated from existence due to these very things.
I am not trying to make you upset with me. I genuinely wish we could all be friends. But there is a growing concern that too much “middle of the road political correctness” among our nation’s spiritual leaders is costing lives. People are confused because their leaders have lost their way. I just learned that one of our national candidates formed their opinions on advocacy for abortion rights after hearing their pastor’s misinterpretation of the Bible. For this person, it is a morally and spiritually defensible choice believing that the unborn child is “less than human.” In a world of fast-stepping leaders, it is rare to know what someone really believes and why. I want to go on record as one who stands for the sanctity of human life; especially the weak and the defenseless, and my reasons are to honor their creator.
There was a time in our nation’s history when slavery was a hotly debated topic. Intelligent men and women made legal and moral arguments on both sides. Those that enslaved other humans convinced themselves that is was alright on moral grounds and that they had the right “to choose.” One primary reason used to justify this opinion was to purport that slaves were “not quite human.” When slavery was finally outlawed, it was by a narrow decision and many were extremely upset over the outcome. They really believed in their cause. Today, however, there seems to be a general consensus among people of all backgrounds that this was a dark period of our history. I don’t know anybody who would openly advocate slavery as a defensible direction for our nation’s future. Our culture has generally left that debate. But the arguments regarding the sanctity of human life are still on the floor.
I would still like to save dolphins and whales and trees and the environment and many other things. But could we make it a priority to “save the humans”? Sanctity of Human Life Week; how will you celebrate?