
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A PERSON’S LIFE?
- Posted by Edith Ohaja
- On April 21, 2017
- 96 Comments
Are you awed by wealthy people, captains of industry, political office holders, celebrities and the like? Are you among those that envy them and feel they are the most valuable people on earth? You must have your reasons but I beg to differ from you.
My conception of a person’s value comes first, from the fact that they are made in the image of God and Jesus died for them. Now that is a leveller of rank unlike any other. But beyond that, I have a way of stratifying people and that comes from the extent to which they live out the dual chief-purpose of human beings on earth.
A person’s value comes first from the fact that they are made in the image of God. Click To TweetOne arm of this relates to their acknowledgement of God and submission to Him. The other relates to their usefulness to other people. The two actually go hand in hand because no one who truly knows God can be insensitive to the plight of people around him or her. Besides, it is our relationship with God that causes us to desire and act in line with His purpose (Phillipians 2:13), not to mention His fighting our battles and releasing resources to us (spiritual and physical) to bless others with.
Everyone is valuable. That is why Jesus died for every single one of us. Click To TweetThe teacher of the law who asked Jesus about the greatest commandment did us all a big favour. The Master’s reply was:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” – Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV).
So what am I looking for? Humility towards God and empowering of people that He places within our circle of influence. We may not run a church or preach in crusades, but we can bring the gospel to individuals we meet on our job or in our neighbourhood. We may not be able to feed millions but, perhaps, we can put food on a widow or aged person’s table. We may not fund a scholarship scheme for an entire community but, maybe, we can see a kid from an indigent family through primary, secondary or tertiary school.
In Phillipians 1:22-25, Paul speaks of the reason he would remain on this side of heaven, rather than departing to be with the Lord immediately. It all boiled down to his capacity (and I would add, desire) to meet the needs of the brethren. This was why the believers in Joppa were devastated when Dorcas died and asked that Peter wake her up and by God’s grace, he did (Acts 9: 36-41). When we cease being useful, there is no reason for us to be here.
To sum this up, if we must grade ourselves, the value of a person’s life, I believe, can be measured by the extent of his or her devotion to God and usefulness to others.
A person is valuable to the extent that he or she is devoted to God and useful to others. Click To Tweet+++++++
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96 Comments