“Freedom” Gone Amok

Newsletter article for February 1998

© 1998 by Rev. Paul A. Wolff

One of the most widely used arguments in the drive for so-called “assisted suicide” is that every person ought to have the right to choose the time and manner of his or her death. This is also the most compelling argument. There is no truth to it, and it is extremely dangerous for reasons which I will explain below, but it is compelling nonetheless.

FREEDOM

This argument is especially compelling in our country because of our history, and because of how much we value freedom. If there were a secular god in our nation then his name would be “freedom” and his followers would include a vast majority of the population. However, the concept of freedom has developed over the years so that it is no longer the same thing that our nation’s forefathers fought for in the Revolutionary War. This is not all bad, because now all citizens are free, and not just those of non-African descent.

On the other hand, some of the new freedoms are not so beneficial. An irresponsible freedom to own guns contributes to tens of thousands of deaths every year. When conflict arises between a supposed personal freedom, and the greater good of society, it seems that the courts are more and more likely to grant more personal freedom, even at the expense of order in society. This is one of the dangers of allowing “assisted suicide”, and although there is no specific laws which outlaw it now (other than the laws against murder) the ability of Mr. Kevorkian to continue his murder spree (at least for the time being) is a de facto approval of the practice.

UNCOMMON COMMON SENSE

The reasons for not allowing suicide are so obvious that the question should never arise. However, common sense is not as common as it should be these days. Even from a secular point of view people are more valuable alive than dead. Even the way we care for people who are chronically and terminally ill reflects how well we value all life. This is to say that if we mistreat, devalue, and discard people at the end of their life, then we will not value people in the prime of their lives either. This may not happen immediately, but just as night follows day it will happen.

THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF LIFE

This should be enough to quickly dismiss the idea of assisted suicide, but as Christians, we have more, and better reasons. We know that our lives are a gift from God, and that we have no right to decide when or how to end it. Genesis 2:7 tells us “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Just as we trust in God to determine the course of our lives, so we trust in God to determine the time and manner of our death, and then to rescue us out of the jaws of death.

Job tells us that “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (12:10) Since God has given us life, and retains the ultimate control over life and death, then it is the ultimate in arrogance and idolatry to say we have the right to choose the time and manner of our own death. This temptation to take the power of God for ourselves is the same temptation to which Adam and Eve succumbed, thereby bringing sin and death to all people until the end of time.

The devil knows that life is sacred to God, and that is why he tries to destroy it. God is called “the Living God” after all, both because He is alive, and also because He gives us life. In Matthew 4 we read where the devil tempted Jesus to commit suicide by jumping off the top of the temple. The devil even misquoted scripture to try to trick Jesus into thinking that it was right to do so. Jesus was not fooled and answered, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

In Philippians chapter one it sounds as if St. Paul is contemplating suicide when he says: “To live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but is is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” St. Paul is not thinking of killing himself. Instead, he is trying to understand God’s will for his life and ministry. He is simply trying to understand the signs, such as the fact that he is imprisoned and possibly facing death (though not at his own hand), and the fact that he believes that God still has work for him to do. In the end he submits to God’s apparent will that he continue to go on living and serving others in the church. Note that Paul doesn’t do this out of selfish motives, since it would be better for him to live in heaven with Christ, but he submits to more imprisonment and suffering so that more people may hear the Gospel of Jesus and be saved. This is a lesson which we should all take to heart.