Seeing the value in others

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Published on Saturday, May 19, 2018

By Neil Strohschein

Neepawa Banner & Press

As I write these words, the victims of the Toronto tragedy have finally been identified. Of the 10 who were killed in this incident, eight were women, two were men. The oldest was a 94-year-old grandmother. The two youngest were international students—both were 22.

To you and me, they may be just names on a list. But they were much more than that. Every person who died that day was someone’s son or daughter. Some were married. Many parents themselves; others were looking forward to raising a family. Some were well-established in their careers. Others had their lives ahead of them. All were dearly loved and will be greatly missed by family and friends.

But their families aren’t the only ones who lost something that day. Whenever an innocent life is taken, we all lose far more than we can ever imagine.

First, we lose the victims’ knowledge; much of which was gained by living, working and learning with the people they met each day. We lose the insights and perspectives that come from those who were born and raised in another culture. And we lose the awareness of family and community history that is nestled in the minds of the elderly.

Second, we lose the benefits of their experience in problem-solving and building relationships that they have developed through their years of being and working with others. We lose their skills in parenting difficult children, acting as mediators in community disputes or helping organize and host activities in their community, church or region.

Third, we lose their wisdom—especially the wisdom that comes with age. It’s one thing to know something. It’s quite another to use what we know to consistently benefit others. That ability is not something we can learn in a classroom. It is something we develop over time; by taking initiatives, making mistakes, learning from them and changing how we deal with challenges.

Finally, when an innocent life is taken, we lose all of the contributions that person could have made to society had he or she been allowed to live. We will never know how much good even one of these victims could have done. Their lives were snuffed out before they could ever complete the work that they were put on this earth to do.

As noted in last week’s column, those who take the lives of innocent people show a callous disregard for the value of a human life. They also, I would argue, see little (if indeed any) value in the contributions those whose deaths they caused could make to society as a whole. That’s why events like the Toronto tragedy evoke such an outpouring of sympathy for the victims’ families. We all lost something when these people died—and we all grieve our losses

Every life is sacred. Every person born into this world is a unique creation of God and is a person of great value. Every person has the right to be treated with dignity and respect; and to be allowed to grow to maturity in a loving and caring community. And, having grown, every person has the right to make the contribution to society that he or she was destined to make. These rights are inalienable. They are given by God. They are to be respected by everyone else.

As people of faith, we are called to take the lead by showing society how to see the value in every person and helping to build a world in which all people can achieve their God-given potential. How will you help make this happen today?