My heart is heavy this week. I can’t rid my mind of the news of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville this week, with more rumored to come in other places of the country, nor can I get over a recent report that Iceland is aborting virtually 100% of babies with Down syndrome.

I don’t always understand why God has not yet ended this cruel world. I suppose there is still at least one more soul He knows will obey the gospel before He closes the door to eternity (2 Pet. 3:9).

But be sure of this: the racism in Charlottesville and murder in Iceland are not separate unrelated stories. Both of them are blood matters – and in several ways.

Jesus gave His blood to fix and forgive the wickedness that is behind both baby murder and racism. He sacrificed Himself to save all human beings – all fellow image bearers of God (Gen. 1:26-27) – all descendants of Adam (Acts 17:26) – so God & humanity, black & white, mother & fetus could be reconciled.

We cannot overstate the seriousness of hatred that so often manifests itself behind racism and abortion. To declare that one human being (perhaps due to his or her skin color, health, age, intelligence, or wallet) is somehow of more value than another human being is a cosmic sin against the God of the universe.

Rid your soul of this hate. Racism and abortion will damn your soul for eternity and make you personally responsible for the blood of Jesus.

Practices that Rob Humanity of Value

Hate, by definition, is hostility toward a fellow human being. Thus, several common practices today demonstrate hatred to our fellow man.

Abortion

Abortion suggests that the value of human life is determined by convenience or quality of life. Our culture actually tells women who unintentionally become pregnant that abortion is actually a “loving” thing to do. How sick. They say that it spares a child of the misery of being born into a home where he/she is not wanted or into a life that might be difficult. Abortion causes us to believe that human beings are disposable like trash and can be destroyed without remorse, consequence, or punishment.

Euthanasia

This fancy word literally means “good death.” The Bible only speaks of those who “die in the Lord” (Rev. 14:13) as having a “good death.” The term euthanasia, however, describes ending someone’s life in order to prevent pain and/or difficult circumstances. Each year, we hear another heartbreaking story of someone assisting another human commit suicide due to some impending illness or decreased quality of life. While these circumstances are difficult to bear, our efforts must be on easing the pain and suffering, not hastening death.

From the beginning, there have only been very limited circumstances under which man can end another person’s life. Genesis 9:6 declares, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Whether it be suicide or assisted suicide, man has no right to play God and decide for themselves when death should come simply on the basis of the quality of life.

Racism

Racism, fundamentally, is the disregard of human life. It leads us to believe that there are some people (conveniently those who happen to be like us) who are of greater value than others. With great shame, I regret the fact that many generations ago in my family there were slave-owners. To classify some human beings as creatures made in the image of God and others as nothing more than animals is a great, great sin.

Pornography

Abortion and euthanasia always follow in the wake of a culture that accepts pornography as a part of life. Pornography not only facilitates violating Jesus’ condemnation of lust (Matt. 5:27-30) and immodesty (1 Tim. 2:9), but it leads its viewers to see other human beings as nothing more than flesh and bones. When people begin looking at others as mere images for self-gratification, it is not a large leap to begin believing that life is of so little value that it can be abused and taken at will.

Conclusion

You cannot be a Christian while also diminishing the value of human life – in any way. Let us be convicted by the fact that God wants to save all men. Let us always have a clear, unanimous voice in declaring that all lives have value.

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