The Value of Life

 “Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.”

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭23‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Life is greatly undervalued in the age in which we live. It’s something for which we have little regard. And this is seen in many different ways.

It’s seen, for example, in our support for unfettered abortion. It’s seen in our laws permitting euthanasia or physician assisted suicide. It’s seen in the actions of terrorists, who use civilians as human shields or who serve as suicide bombers in order to stoke fear in the masses.

That being said, it’s seen also in less obvious ways. It’s seen in the declining birthrate and in our increasing demand for birth control. It’s seen in our unwillingness to confront abuse. And it’s seen in the devaluing of members of another race or culture.

It’s additionally seen in the foolish chances we take with our own life. It’s seen in some of us as we drink and drive, or as we use substances which destroy our body and put us at risk of overdose. It’s seen as we push ourselves to the limit, failing to take adequate time for rest or to nourish ourselves. And it’s seen as we fail to make use of protections provided to us that we might not suffer harm.

As we see in the passage above, David had the opposite mentality. He greatly valued human life. And he could not tolerate it when it was taken lightly.

The above passage was speaking of David’s mighty men, his greatest and most loyal warriors. Speaking to them, he’d expressed his desire to drink from the well of his hometown, Bethlehem. This town, however, was held by their enemies, the Philistines.

We all wish for friends so loyal but, when they heard of this desire, three of his mighty men went into action. They went to Bethlehem, fought through the Philistines who were there, and drew some water from the well of which David spoke. And they, then, brought it to him.

When they did so, he refused to drink it. And it wasn’t due to a lack of gratitude on his part. He refused to drink it because of the high value he placed on human life.

He acknowledged that the men who brought this water to him did so at the risk of their lives. And their lives were not something to be taken lightly. They were worth far more than the satisfaction of his reminiscent desire.

He would have never asked his men to do such a thing for him. He would never have asked them to put their lives on the line for something as trivial as a drink of water from the well of his hometown. Although their love for David was commendable, they should never have risked themselves in this way.

We, in the same way, should value human life. This life, after all, is a gift of God. It’s he who created each one of us. And it’s he who sent his Son to die for us, that we might have life everlasting.

Spiritual Amnesia

 “And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We can easily become frustrated with the church. We can become frustrated with our fellow believers. And the reason we become frustrated is because they never seem to learn.

Even though they have read of God’s might and love in Scripture, they continue to doubt. Despite knowing how he’s worked throughout the course of history, they fail to believe. And even when they hear testimony from us, or other believers, of what God has done, they seem blind and deaf.

We fail to realize, however, that this is not unusual in the least. This was true also of the disciples in Mark 8. They had already seen Jesus miraculously feed the 5000 with only a small amount of food. But when Jesus expresses his desire to feed another crowd, this is their response.

They once again question how this can be done. They question it due to the lack of resources available to them. They do so even though Jesus is standing right there in their midst.

This leads us to ask if  they had forgotten what Jesus had done. It makes us wonder if they had suffered a head injury. Or perhaps they were suffering from amnesia.

It often seems this way. It seems this way as we read about them in the gospels. And it seems this way as we search our own heart.

We, you see, do the same. Even knowing how God has worked to save us, we doubt. Even seeing how he’s worked in our day to day lives, we fail to believe.

We never seem to learn. And, for this reason, we have to be reminded again and again. It has to be pounded into our head over and over.

I wonder if this is why Jesus performed the same miracle a second time. Despite what they’d seen, they still didn’t get it. And they needed to see it again.

This, you see, is the blessing of Scripture. It’s the blessing of reading it. And it’s the blessing of hearing it taught and preached time and again. 

We are continually reminded of who Christ is, what he has done, and the promises he’s given us. When doubt creeps in, we hear it again. And when it seems we’ve forgotten, we are reminded.