Healing Rays of Righteousness

In a culture of selfish individualism and gratification, respect for human dignity has been discarded as worthless baggage. When it comes to the communal need of affirming and protecting the dignity of others, our society has lost its heart and soul. And sadly, even those who claim to be Christian are finding it acceptable to cruelly “trash” those they do not like or disagree with.

Political conversations have deteriorated into sickening trash-talking about opponents and making the possibility of learning “truthful facts” about a person or situation is almost non-existent. Unfortunately, this childish and prejudiced name-calling has become the dark character of American culture in both our secular and religious arenas. Most distressing to me, is that such behavior is displayed and encouraged at the highest level of our current national government leaders. Shame, shame, shame!

You ask, why am I distressed and why does human dignity demand respect? Listen to what God says about human origin and dignity. Like when God is about to send Jeremiah as a prophet into a culture that had lost all reverence for human life. They were corrupting themselves with the most flagrant disregard for human dignity. To encourage and commission Jeremiah as his prophet, God says to him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  (Jeremiah 1:5) 

Our small, earthbound minds imagine our conception as only a biological event. But this verse forces us to rethink the deeper truths regarding the origin and dignity of human life. If God, as sovereign Creator, is present in the process of human conception, then we must accept the truth that the value of human life is wrapped in the wonderous glory of an eternal relationship with God.

The Psalmist knew this to be true and praises God, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14).

And there is more. Listen again to what God said to Jeremiah. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”  I hear God saying that our conception and birth are not our real beginning of existence, nor will death be the end of our existence.

Wow! What a wondrous thought to ponder and live by. Before the day and moment of our being conceived, God knew us and dignified us by calling us into existence. God names you and me in his mind and dignifies each of us with a special purpose, plan, and destiny.

Before our mothers lovingly cradled us in their arms, God wrapped his greater arms around us and held us close, instilling in each of us a life-purpose uniquely designed for us. That truth is awesome, and the wondrous thought infuses me with God’s glorious and eternal dignity.

The psalmist acknowledges this truth in his praise to God, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!”  (Ps. 139:16-17).

But even though we believe this truth regarding God’s dignifying us with purpose and destiny, many who call themselves Christian find it difficult to believe that he did the same for every human being on this earth. Yes, I repeat, what God did in bringing you and me into existence, he did for every human being on this earth.

It is imperative that we let this truth permeate into the deepest recesses of our mind and heart. Otherwise, it becomes easy to debate and decide about others based on their usefulness to us, or whether we feel comfortable in their presence.

It is true that many people do not live up to the dignity God instilled in them at their birth. Many do not live up to God’s purpose, plan, and potential. There are many reasons for such failure, but the saddest is when it is because they did not receive the affirmation, dignity and respect needed to experience and grow into wholesome personhood. Shame, shame, shame!

Yes, I am convinced that our communities, nation, and world would be amazingly transformed if the Christian community made sincere efforts to reclaim God’s gifting of human dignity for all, regardless of their race, religion, politics, or nationality. May God help us to do so!

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Ray M. Geigley – “Healing Rays of Righteousness” – www.geigler13.wordpress.com – 6/11/25