If you haven’t really thought about it, I would encourage you to. What do death and dignity have to do with one another?
I officiated a funeral several days ago. In preparation, I read the obituary of the deceased. Often in obituaries, there is a section dedicated to the healthcare staff and others who served the deceased and family of the deceased during their end-of-life health challenges. In this case, the family thanked CarePartners Hospice by pointing to “the compassionate care shown” to their loved one.
Most of the time we read that and move on, but something caught me this time. How is hospice viewed from a Christian worldview? Is hospice care a Christian concept?
The Scriptures teach us that humanity is specially valued above all other creation. In Genesis 9: 6-7 as God is making His covenant with Noah after the flood, He says, “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image. But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”
Hospice care is rooted in the very Scriptural teaching that human life is priceless and should be protected and honored.
Even as we near the end of life, our value does not decrease. Being Image-bearers of God means that we retain infinite value from conception to natural death. Hospice care ensures that the final days of human life are met with love, compassion, and dignity. When we care for those close to death, we honor the God who made them.
I’ve had grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and fellow church members who all have been blessed by hospice care staff. They clean them, turn them, minister to the grieving family, and all the while maintain compassionate professionalism.
As you can see, I am a strong advocate for hospice care because I believe it is rooted in the Biblical view of valuing and honoring human life.
We should value life more
We live in a day and age where life is seen as something that can be disposed of. In socialistic, communistic, and secular worldviews in general, there is not a basis on which to value all life. Every worldview that is void of the Holy Scriptures minimizes the value of certain people. It comes from the philosophy in Utilitarian Ethics known as the “greater good.” It justifies actions that benefit more people than they harm.
The problem with this understanding is that there will always be a minority that is harmed in exchange for the pleasures of the majority. Not only that, the majority gets to decide who is of value and who is disposable. Could this be why babies who are unwanted by their mothers are so easily aborted and forgotten? Perhaps this is why physician-assisted suicide is now acceptable in parts of Europe, Canada, and the United States.
If Scripture is true, all human life is eternally valuable. If secularism is all there is, then life is only valuable if it is useful and wanted.
I pray you will join with me in thanking a hospice care staff member and letting them know that their job is God-honoring and essential.