Equipped for Impact

The Sanctity of Life in a Disposable Culture

• Luis Miranda and Nathan Deck • Season 2 • Episode 40

Share episode

We challenge the replacement mindset shaping how culture treats people and root our view of human worth in the image of God. We share age‑wise scripts, practical habits, and a grace‑filled posture so parents can disciple kids to love and protect life.

• the image of God as the basis of worth 
• culture’s convenience narrative vs biblical compassion 
• scripture anchors in Genesis 1, Psalm 139, Proverbs 24 
• moving beyond politics to convictions and practice 
• age‑appropriate guidance for young kids, tweens, and teens 
• training teens to think, not just react 
• modeling compassion through church and community 
• prayer, presence, and serving together as habits 
• grace for past choices and telling the truth with love

If this episode encouraged you or helped you, please share it with another parent who could use this resource … and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss our next episode


Send any questions you want answered to podcast@waynechristian.org

This podcast is presented by Wayne Christian School- A Christ-centered community school whose mission is to assist parents and churches in the education of their children from a biblical worldview to impact their world for Christ. You can learn more at waynechristian.org

Nate:

Have you noticed how easy it is to replace things now? Phones, clothes, furniture, cars. If something is inconvenient, outdated, or broken, we don't fix it, we replace it.

Luis:

And the same mindset is shaping how our culture views people. Unplanned pregnancy, chronic illness, disabilities, old age, emotional struggle. We live in a culture that increasingly treats life as something that can be discarded.

Nate:

But scripture tells a radically different story. A story where every human life matters, because every human life is made in the image of God. And the way your children learn to see life will shape how they see people, pain, purpose, and even themselves. Welcome to Equipped for Impact, the podcast designed to assist Christian parents, leaders, and educators to raise up the next generation, to stand firm in their faith, and influence the world for Christ. We're your hosts. I'm Nate. And I'm Lewis. And we're glad you're here with us today. We're here tackling a topic that's not just cultural, it's foundational. This is the sanctity of life in a disposable culture. Which, Lewis, when this episode uh releases this Thursday, next this coming Sunday is gonna be uh Sanctity of Life Sunday. Yeah, Sunday, January 18th.

Luis:

That's what we recognize as Sanctity of Life Sunday.

Nate:

So whether you're listening to this uh before that Sunday or after that Sunday or sometime in the distant future, because we're you know doing this whole time travel thing now, apparently. Yeah, you know, this is an important topic. And I know, you know, in our culture, this is only gonna get even more. From that opening, right, we talked about, you know, everything from abortion to euthanasia, you know, how our culture talks about quality of life. Um, you know, this conversation shapes how our kids view human worth and suffering and even their own value.

Luis:

And whether we're ready or not, the reality is that our kids, regardless of age really, are already being discipled on this issue by their schools, social media, entertainment, their friends. They're talking about it already. And so today we want to equip you to disciple them and guide you in how to have these conversations with your children at home.

Nate:

Yeah. So so let's just dive right in. We already kind of put our premise out there, right? The big idea is that at the heart of the sanctity of life is one simple, powerful biblical truth. Every human life is sacred because every human bears the image of God. And so that goes from conception all the way to you know the grave, the end of life. You know, every human life um bears the image of God.

Luis:

Well, you know, there's a cliche saying, right, from the womb to the tomb.

Nate:

Ah, there you go.

Luis:

Have you heard that before?

Nate:

I have heard that.

Luis:

Yep. And so and and and really that whole idea comes from what the Bible teaches. Genesis 127 says that God created man in his own image. And so human value is not based on age, it's not based on ability, health, productivity, or or independence. It's based on God's design. It's based on his own image.

Nate:

Yeah, and so that's radically different from what our culture says, right? Um they talk about life being valuable when it's convenient, when it's wanted. You hear those words about you know the beginning of life. Um, you know, this is an unwanted pregnancy or an unplanned pregnancy, or you know, we're just not ready to be parents yet. Which that's a huge lie because is anybody ready to be a parent? Um they don't make a manual for it. They do not.

Luis:

I don't think you are never ready to be a parent. I don't know that I'm ready to be a parent now, and I've been a parent for 15 years, right? Yes. Because every stage of parenting is different. Totally different. But also on the flip side, right? So we also look at convenience, right? And we talk about quality of life, and we talk about you know, we don't want people to outlive their usefulness and things like that.

Nate:

Or it's just, you know, I don't want to be a drag on the economy or society or or whatever. You know, my kid, my kids, my grandkids.

Luis:

Yes, yes, yes.

Nate:

Those types of things. I don't have the autonomy. Yeah. Well, that's not what life is about, right?

Luis:

Because scripture says that life is valuable, not because you're convenient, not because you're wanted or efficient or healthy or autonomous, but you are valuable because God made you. God created life. You are valuable because God made it.

Nate:

Yeah, and so we live in what could honestly be called a disposable culture, right? Every new upgrade cycle of my iPhone, you know, whatever, if something is inconvenient or broken or old or costly or just not as shiny as it used to be, we replace it and so we bring that into our whole idea of of life.

Luis:

Yeah. So if you have an unplanned pregnancy, you just terminate it, right? Yeah. If you have a terminal illness, well, you just end your life early. I want to end life on my terms. You know, you hear that a lot. And if you have a disability, then then maybe that life just isn't worth it. And the dangerous part is is how these ideas are framed. And sometimes they're framed as these are compassionate ideas.

Nate:

Yeah, but it's not compassionate to eliminate another person. Like when you say it that way, like it that is an extreme way of saying it. But like when you say it that way, it's like, oh, we're it's just compassionate. No, it's not. You're getting rid of somebody. Yeah. Would you go up to any person and say, Well, you know, I'm just gonna get rid of you. Yeah, yeah. Have you ever read The Giver? I have not. So so the I think it's been on your book recommendation episodes a couple of times.

Luis:

So The Giver is by Lois Lowry, and it's a dystopian future society. But they actually do that. They have something that they call, I think it's called the ceremony. And in this society, when you reach a certain point in your life of of usefulness, um they compassionately eliminate you by putting you in a room, and there's this big ceremony, this celebration, and then they euthanize you. Now it's a kid's book, so it's not written like it, you know, the word euthanasia is not used, right? But as you read it as you're older, you're like, oh, that's that's what they're doing. And and and the character actually realizes that and uh struggles with it, right? Has like some moral, like, wait a minute, like what is going on here, right? Because again, compassion that eliminates the person instead of caring for that person, it's not biblical compassion.

Nate:

Yeah, definitely not. I mean, Psalm 139 talks about, you know, how God formed us in our mother's womb, right? He knit us together. I love that poetic language, right? Of just knitting us together intricately made us who we are. And then Proverbs 24, it's it's uh actually verses 11 and 12 talk about how rescue those who are being taken away to death, hold back those who are stumbling to slaughter, right? And so that's that's shown in this book of wisdom, right, Proverbs, as the wise choice. Like you're going to see these people on their way to death, either by their own choices or their you know, punishment or whatever it is. And like the wise thing is preserve life, not you know, hasten it to its end.

Luis:

Yeah. And I I really love that example of Psalm 139 that you mentioned. Um I like reading it in the New Living Translation because it's kind of a more modern CSB guy. Well, I do like the CSB, but CSB is more word for word. Okay. The New Living Translation is more of a paraphrase. It's great for reading devotionally, it's great when you want to read, because I think it's written on like a third or fourth grade reading level. So I mean it's it's a really strong translation for that. But but I love how it uses the phrase like um, thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. So like it just talks about how God um just man, and that word knit, right, like put us together. Uh and and really that's that's what we're talking about, right? Because this idea shapes more than politics, right? Like people try to make it up to the right. That's the first thing.

Nate:

Because like Sanctity of Life Sunday and all of that, like there's gonna be political marches, there's gonna be, you know, which uh you know there's a place for you know acting on political positions that align with biblical truths. Um but it's it's not just that.

Luis:

Yeah. And you know, it's the phrase is you can't let your politics dictate your beliefs, right? Right. Like your biblical convictions. Your biblical convictions have to shape your political beliefs, right? And so oftentimes people try to connect this to politics, and you know, you're either one view or you're this other view, and whatever position you're doing.

Nate:

And you have to take the whole package. Yeah, you have to take the other package. This is not a political podcast. That is a thing that Christians gotta understand.

Luis:

And so what we're talking about here, how this belief about human life and compassion and the sanctity of human life, it shapes how your child is going to view life as well, right? They're gonna see their own worth, they're gonna understand how they treat classmates, they're gonna understand how they respond to weakness, they're they're gonna understand how they understand suffering, uh, whether people are seen as problems or neighbors. And so it's this this view of human life shapes a lot of things. Yeah. It shapes it really boils down to this concept of it shapes uh how we treat people.

Nate:

Yeah, it's it's true. And so if your kids grow up believing human worth is conditional, right? Um it's only valuable if it's wanted. Yeah, it's only valuable if it's productive and efficient. Well, then they take that into themselves, right? Well, what if I'm not wanted? What if I'm not productive or efficient or good enough? And so then they grow up with this anxious insecurity, being fearful of not being enough, because well, if you do that at the beginning and end of life, where do you draw the line in the middle?

Luis:

Yeah. And to flip that though, but when your child grows up knowing that they are created in God's image, when they grow up knowing that they are loved by Him, when they grow up knowing that they are valuable before they ever perform, then that's going to create a different kind of confidence in your child.

Nate:

Yeah. So so let's get pr practical here. Like we've kind of laid the philosophical groundwork, you know, that's how we like to do it, biblical and philosophical like idea of where we are, what the Bible says. So what does this look like for you know the different age groups? You know, if we're talking about we want to give our kids a counter discipleship to the culture, well let's look at at kind of the different age groups. So really young kids, you know, uh ages four, you know, early elementary, four to seven or things like that. You want to keep it really simple.

Luis:

Four to six or seven.

Nate:

Thankfully that went away over Christmas break. Did it? It's not a good thing. As far as I know, at least in middle school age, um, I did not hear it once in the hallways from break.

Luis:

I might bring it back.

Nate:

They might bring it back. I think they're over it. They're over it. Yeah. It's all about the quarter zip or the Nike tech.

Luis:

Get out of here.

Nate:

And then they realized that I wear quarter zips. Yeah. And so I was cool before it was cool. Yeah. And so now that's not cool. Because you Because I wear quarter zips. But okay. We were talking about age appropriate discipleship. So keep it simple. Um early elementary, you know, even preschool age, you know, this is where you you just lay that foundation of God made me. Yeah. Right? God made every person. Every person is special to God. Right? We treat people kindly because they matter to God. Things like that, like those are the types of phrases that just kind of lay that foundation over and over again, and they're simple and they're they're repeatable and memorable.

Luis:

Yep, and kids, and kids remember that, right? And it's there's the there's nothing complex about that. You can even use phrases like people aren't things. We don't just throw them away, right? There is a difference between being a person and being a box of your favorite cereal. Right. And that's gonna naturally progress to that older elementary preteen years, right? Kids that are ages eight to eleven. And and that's where you can begin to introduce ideas like every baby grows inside of a mom. Um, so that they understand that.

Nate:

You mean a stork doesn't come and deliver the baby and you have to go pick it up in the hospital? We should do an episode on that one. I don't think so. Maybe if you if you want to be the special guest for that episode, uh the email us, podcast at wingchristian.org.

Luis:

Right. But also phrases like God knows us before we're born. Yeah. Um, every life matters even when life is hard. And so you introduce these ideas so that your kids are hearing you talk about babies being formed in the womb, babies being known by God before they're burnt uh before they're born, every life mattering to God. Yep. And so it helps it helps them understand these concepts.

Nate:

Yeah, and it focuses them on their inherent value, like theirs and also others, right? It focuses on on God's care for them, and you're not dealing with you know cultural controversies. You know, the older age range of that, you're talking that kind of going into the tweens. Yeah, yeah. They're gonna know, you know, the terms abortion and stuff like that. And you don't necessarily need to drill down into what it is. Like, don't show them the silent screen. Do you have did you ever see that video?

Luis:

I don't think I have no.

Nate:

It was one of those, I don't think I've ever actually seen it. I just know about it where it was like the ultrasound of them performing an abortion. Like that is not for the your younger ages, you know? No. Um I don't I don't even know if it's appropriate for the older ages.

Luis:

It's a difficult Did you ever watch the movie? I think it was called Unplanned.

Nate:

No.

Luis:

Where it tells the story of the lady that worked, I think, for Planned Parenthood and then witnessed their processes and what they do. Right. She took a pill that caused an abortion for her, uh, and then her life was radically transformed and it became this this big ministry. I believe the actress for that movie was actu is actually from Goldsboro. Oh, really? And so it's so it was, it was, it was, it's a pretty hard movie to watch. Gotcha.

Nate:

Um again, not for this age group.

Luis:

Not not for this age group, but maybe for your older teens, maybe maybe for 16, 17, 18. Um, it definitely for parents who maybe are trying to understand what we're talking about.

Nate:

Yeah. Yep. And so you're not really getting into the political controversies in the in the upper elementary kind of tween age. But as you move into the later years of of middle school and then on into high school, that's where you start having those honest conversations, right? You know, what actually is an abortion? Yeah. Um, and if they actually like because culture will um use euphemisms to talk about it. Yeah. You know, it was eliminated or ended or, you know, things like that where they're just like, we just we just ended our or we chose something different. It's like, no, you you killed a human being. You know, things like that. Like, don't say it that crass, but it's it's what actually is abortion. Yeah. Why does our culture think some lives matter less than others? Why does script what does scripture say about human worth? And you're like, you're going through that and then even replace it. Like, what does biblical compassion look like instead? And you talk through those conversations, help those older, you know, the teens process the the things that are really going on in in our culture and and really get down into the weeds with them.

Luis:

Yep. And and teach them to think, right? Not just react. Because I know what it was like to be a teen. And you you had I actually remember, I think it was it was my junior year or my senior year in one of my classes. We had to take a position on abortion. And I know how teens can be, right? So it it becomes emotionally charged, it becomes an argument of I'm right, you're wrong, right? But teach them to think, not just react, and help them see the difference between emotional arguments, because a lot of times that's what happens, right? When we are having these conversations, it becomes an emotional argument and help them see the difference between what an emotional argument is and what the Bible teaches, what is biblical truth.

Nate:

And I think sometimes, like this is this is just good. Like sometimes our teachers will do this, is where you you want to debate between two positions, and naturally, you know, obviously we would take the pro-life stance in this sanctity of life discussion. But sometimes like forcing yourself to look at, well, what are the arguments people are making in favor of the opposite position? Yeah, because then that also gives you compassion for their side. Like, what is it that drove them to think, you know, we need to eliminate life at the beginning or end or whatever? And then that way you can see a better way of like better answers. Because it's like, okay, well, I understand where they're coming from. Yeah. Even even if it's wrong, right? I understand where they're coming from.

Luis:

Yeah. And I think that's a good time also for us to interject here that if you're listening to this and you've personally been involved in an abortion, or you've personally been involved in a decision that ended somebody's life for whatever reason because of age, terminal illness, quality of life, whatever, we're not here to judge you. Right. We're not here to condemn you. We're not here to say that uh you are a terrible person. What we're here to do is we're here to to encourage you to consider what the Bible teaches. And so we don't want you to feel the pressure of condemnation. We want you to feel the freedom of what God says because even when we're wrong, even when we make mistakes, God is just and willing to forgive us. And so please understand that our heart is not to say you did a bad thing and you are a terrible person. It's to say this is what the Bible teaches, and this is the position we want to take, and this is why we believe human life is valuable, but our God is also willing to forgive and embrace. Yep.

Nate:

And that's a great like for for parents, right? Because that's who that's who we're geared towards, right? We're geared towards parents discipling their children, right? So if you as a parent listening to this made that mistake, you know, earlier in your life and and you hear this, you understand it, right? It's a it's a great place out probably with the your older teens, right? To explain, like, you know what? I used to think this or I did this, and this is what I was thinking then. Here is the truth now so that you don't have the same, you know, baggage or the same, you know, the same things I went through. You can learn and grow and you know, from from what I went through. That's the heart of discipleship. Absolutely with with any position. We talked about finances last week. Yes. You know, and that's the same thing. Like I made these financial mistakes, I don't want my kids to make them. So you can you we want to pass on to the next generation, you know, good, solid biblical foundation so that they can continue to grow and build on that foundation.

Luis:

And that's a great segue into talking about how you can use practical family discipleship to have these conversations, right? And and it doesn't have to be difficult, it doesn't have to be complex. You can just simply start by using everyday moments, right? Talk, talk about life, talk about birth, talk about sickness, talk about aging naturally. Um, these aren't awkward conversations. These are conversations to have with your children so that you can celebrate God's creation and how we value human life because it is created in the image of God.

Nate:

Trevor Burrus And it doesn't even have to be like human life that you're talking about. Like you can use moments with your pets. Yes. Or of course, people around here, they're they're hunters. And I I heard one dad talk about how he even talked about not being flippant about those animals they were harvesting for their food and whatnot. And it is like yeah, that animal is not made in the image of God. And that's the difference between us and them. But we're not going to be seeing the animals as disposable. And so even moments like that of like, hey, death, you know, here it is. Yeah. It's not pretty. Yeah. You know, but we're thanking God that we've got this animal. You know, it's a teaching moment if you're a hunter or a fisherman or you know, whatever outdoorsman you are there.

Luis:

Is not only do we use everyday moments, but we teach the image of God. Right. Make it a family phrase, make it something that is repeatable in your family. Um a phrase that we use in our home is we talk about being made in the image of God. Um, every person is an image bearer. And so when we talk about situations, we use phrases like, yeah, that we are created in the image of God.

Nate:

Yep. Yep. Or, you know, why am I that way? Well, God created you that way. That's why. You know, and it it just kind of reinforces those things. And then you can just model compassion, right? Let us let our kids see us care for vulnerable, like elderly neighbors or family members, sick friends, struggling families, things like that. They just like last week we talked about being generous. Yeah. When our kids see us being generous in the way we care for others, they see that mercy and compassion modeled in our lives.

Luis:

And that's actually one of the great joys of being part of a church, a multi-generational church. Yeah. Right? Because then your children are able to see elderly people in the church. That they are able to hear about how this elderly person is struggling because maybe they're in a nursing home, or this elderly person has passed away because they're 96 years old, and you you get to model compassion for them. And so But also pray for life, right? Pray for unborn children. Pray for struggling moms, pray for families who are facing hard issues, diagnoses, right? You know, uh medical issues. Um, you know, you may have a family that's dealing, um, there's a family that I pastored several years ago where the their their um the their son was diagnosed with a condition that they knew was going to lead to death relatively quickly after being born. Wow. And so being able to walk with them through that process of their pregnancy, realizing th what was happening in the womb to their son, being present in the hospital when he was delivered, holding him, praying with them, and then being present when he took his last breath, all within a matter of a few hours. Yeah. Like that was a powerful moment, and and we were able to pray for them. And so our family prayed for them through that whole process.

Nate:

Yeah. Yeah. And I think that that leads well to our last point, which is just serving together. Again, we say this all the time. Um, and actually some of this, I one of the first times I can say this. Some of my research has shown that families that this was a a project for in my doctoral program, but uh, I did some research and it and it sh it showed that there is um you know a predictive factor in families that serve together, you know, it actually has an impact on their children and their for future view of God's plan for their life and their serving and things like that. So so as you serve um together, you can look for opportunities to serve. Yeah. Whether it is elderly family members or church church members in nursing homes, if you've got older teenagers in pregnancy centers, pregnancy care centers, um, they normally have age limits and things like that because of the nature of the work they do. But like those types of things, your your children will see God working and it will have an effect uh later on in their lives. Yeah, that's that's that's really good and and um find ways to serve together. Yep, yep. So, Lewis, what what encouragement would you give uh our listeners as we we close this one out today?

Luis:

You know, it's easy for us to say that we're pro-life, right? It's easy for us to say that that that we stand with the unborn. But a pro-life worldview isn't just about what we oppose. It's about what we love, right? We we love life because God loves life. And and parents, remember that that every conversation you have is discipleship. You are shaping how your children see people, you're shaping how they see suffering, and you're shaping how they see their own work because you're not just raising kids, you're raising future protectors of life who will have a biblical view of human life.

Nate:

Yeah, that's good stuff. So thank you all for joining us today on Equipped for Impact. If this episode encouraged you or helped you, please share it with uh another parent who could use this resource, especially as we're coming towards uh that um you know Sanctity of Life Sunday or or anytime, you know, who in into the future, as this is gonna be a big uh issue continuing on in our culture. Uh and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next episode. But until then, keep leading the next generation to stand firm in their faith and influence the world for Christ.

Head Shot

Luis Miranda

Host
Head Shot

Nathan Deck

Host