This is one of those questions that can make a perfectly peaceful room suddenly feel like a congressional hearing.
Ask, “Does life have value?” and many people immediately assume I’m talking about abortion. That may be part of the conversation, but it isn’t the whole question. I’m asking something much bigger:
What value do we place on life itself?
Not just human life. Life on our entire planet.
And that’s where things get uncomfortable.
We have insurance companies putting a financial number on your life. Businesses reminding employees that they are “replaceable.” Industries destroying land and water in the name of economic growth. Governments making decisions that can literally determine who lives and who doesn’t.
Apparently, life has value right up until somebody calculates the quarterly return.
That’s the part I struggle with.
If we truly believe life is precious, shouldn’t that belief extend beyond the convenient arguments we make when discussing one particular issue?
I believe all life has value that cannot be measured in dollars.
Humans like to consider ourselves the smartest species on Earth. We invented computers, skyscrapers, smartphones and the ability to argue with complete strangers online before breakfast. Impressive stuff.
Yet we are also remarkably talented at destroying the very environment that keeps us alive.
We consume. We waste. We pollute. We fight over resources. We destroy in the name of profit and then occasionally hold a meeting about sustainability while handing everyone a plastic cup.
Something seems slightly off here.
We don’t have to choose between compassion and commerce. Businesses can make money while treating employees, customers, communities and the environment as valuable. Governments can protect their citizens without treating people like numbers on a spreadsheet.
And if we genuinely want peace, perhaps we should start valuing life more than power, ideology or money.
So here’s the question I really want you to consider:
Does life have value when nobody is watching?
Does the stranger you’ve never met matter?
Does the person who can’t contribute financially matter?
Does the employee at the bottom of the organizational chart matter?
Does the homeless person you pass matter?
Does the environment matter when destroying it would make someone richer?
Does your neighbor matter even when they disagree with you?
I believe the answer should be yes.
Because eventually, every empire, corporation, political movement and bank account becomes history.
What remains is how we treated one another and the world we were given.
We don’t get to keep this planet forever.
We are simply borrowing it.
Maybe it’s time we started acting like it. 🌎❤️
