He Can’t – I Can – So What’s the Point?

I took my Dad golfing with me today. He’s 87 years old and has dementia. He can’t play anymore, but I’d hoped he would have fun just being on the course  watching  my friend and I play. I think he did.

Dad and I used to play quite a bit but he stopped playing some 7 years ago. It sure was nice to be together on the fairways and for me to see him out there again. We both had a good time, but, as we drove home I got to thinking about aging, the purpose of life, and the reason for living. Pretty heavy thoughts for a guy who just shot a 54 for 9 holes! I probably should have been analyzing my swing and sending up a prayer or two for my putting. Oh well!

You see, we live in an age where people’s value…their justification for being alive is predicated on their usefulness to society. No usefulness…no reason for living. Even “quality of life” is being touted as a justification for a person to be allowed, even helped, to end their life. So for my Dad and I, he can’t…I can…therefore, in the eyes of more and more people, I’m more valuable than he is. Worse yet, he no longer has value! What a horrible lie! In God’s eyes, we are of equal value!

Genesis 1:26 says: “Then God said, ‘let us make man in our image, in our likeness…’ “. And in chapter 2 verse 7 it says: “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” Folks, those are the two reasons every man, woman, child, preborn child, and elderly person has value! First, we are made in God’s image. And second, we are living souls. God gave each one of us life, and only He has the right to take it!

People nowadays call it “death with dignity”; God calls it murder. No one, not even you, have the right to decide to end life. We need to repent, beg for God’s forgiveness and start to do what is right! My Dad has as much value now as the day he was born.  God says so!

Mike Whitney