Tracy Adventist Church

LOVING, SERVING, AND GROWING THE KINGDOM ONE PERSON AT A TIME

Life

 

 

The pandemic has caused most everyone at one point or another to reflect on the value of life. Some people believe that tens of thousands of lives are not worth the millions of people that are/will be impacted by a devastated economy. Other people think that saving tens of thousands, if not exponentially more than that, is worth the economic sacrifice. It is difficult to fully grasp numbers on such a large scale – perhaps millions of people vs. perhaps trillions of dollars.

But on a smaller scale, there have been recent reports of a few incidents that show how cheap life has become during this crisis. A few days ago, a security guard in Michigan was fatally shot after telling a customer it was necessary to put on a facemask. A couple of days later, several McDonald’s workers in Oklahoma were shot and injured after telling a customer the dining area was closed. It is shocking to see how some people are resorting to lethal violence due to a minor inconvenience, because human life has become so devalued to them.  

As followers of Christ we are called to value life supremely, because we recognize that everyone bears the image of God. This understanding must impact the way we live and think. It means not resorting to violence over a minor (or major) annoyance and it means taking an economic hit so that others might live. Even though we might want to lash out, even though we might want to put our bank accounts first, Paul reminds us that we have to keep ourselves in check. “You are no longer your own. God paid a great price for you” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). May we remember that God paid dearly not just for us but for everyone, because He finds all of His children to be valuable!

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