I’ve been paying attention to the Jeffrey Epstein fallout. Maybe too much attention, honestly. It grieves me more than just about anything I’ve followed in a long time.
Among recently released files on the website of the U.S. Department of Justice, I read an email dated March 17, 2013 (6:03 p.m.). In the subject line, Epstein titled it “uncensored comments.” It’s a rambling series of complaints about the ways – mostly terrible in Epstein’s mind – in which a certain high-profile charitable foundation made decisions regarding how its money was spent.
One particular objection raised by Epstein caught my eye: “Can’t they come up with a better foundation structure and goal. Then to make the ludicrous statement that every life is equal.”
Wow. Just wow.
Therein may lie the problem.
Therein may lie the darkness.
Therein may lie the fatal flaw.
Friends, it’s in Chapter 1 for a reason: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
This one amazing reality has set the stage for human rights in Western Civilization for the past 2000 years. It’s why our nation’s Declaration of Independence insists that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Quite foolishly, many among the “intelligentsia” want to jettison our Judeo-Christian moorings – and, consequently, the truth that we’re created in God’s image. Tragically, as we “exchange the truth about God for a lie” (Romans 1:25), we’re actually erasing the primary justification for treating others the way we all long to be treated: as valuable equals. If there’s no image of God, then some people can be deemed worthless.
In James 3, the precise reason that we’re given by the Bible to not curse another person is because everyone is made in the image of Almighty God. Every single claim to dignity and worth is born of this great truth. To do violence to another person is to strike the beautiful One in whose image they are made. We love our neighbor by honoring God’s own image in them. You and I must never forget that we humans – all of us – are God’s “very good” creation.
Unlike the divine conceptions of many religions – as well as much of our popular entertainment – God is not an impersonal force or the universe expressing itself. God has a mind, a will, and even emotions. He is personal, self-aware, and purposeful. As reflections of Himself, God has graciously granted us the gift of personhood – and uniquely so among all of His created order.
You can be among the elite of the elite and fail to understand this. And the consequences are deadly. God’s Word is crystal clear, as that same chapter in James describes a sophisticated but phony “wisdom” that is in fact earthly, carnal, and demonic in nature. You’ll find that word “demonic” in James 3:15, and it underlies every thought pattern which degrades human beings. Read for yourself. It leads to “jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and every vile practice.”
Every. Vile. Practice.
Let me be clear. As a society, we find the Epstein accusations horrific because of Christianity. Before the spread of the gospel, “civilized” Roman and Greek elites indulged openly in underage sex slaves. It was considered normal and acceptable behavior. Emperor Hadrian built an entire city to celebrate his young male lover. But what I most want to note from history is that all such sin has at its heart an attempted erasure of the image of God in us and others.
In “The Weight of Glory,” C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) offered us a stirring challenge: “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal.”
Every life has sacred dignity. Every soul will exist for eternity. Every person has been created for a unique purpose. Eric Liddell (1902 – 1945), the Olympic gold medalist, known to many as “the Flying Scotsman,” expressed it like this: “I believe God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Every believer is gifted of God.
In sharp objection to Jeffrey Epstein’s objection, I take my stand upon the ludicrous truth that every life is equal.
Every. Life.
Every life matters.
Every life matters forever.
As I was preparing this blog posting, it suddenly dawned on me that Jeffrey Epstein wrote the email that I shared with you on Saint Patrick’s Day. How ironic! The man whom we remember as “Saint Patrick” (c. 387 – 461) was the faithful follower of Christ who literally revolutionized the concept of human dignity in Ireland – flowing from there to much of the world. His message of grace was for everyone, as Patrick – a former slave himself, now thoroughly committed to Christ’s liberating gospel – contended that every person possesses intrinsic worth in the eyes of our God and Creator. Patrick believed that the most vulnerable are our equals. He spent his life as a faithful preacher and transformer of culture, advocating tirelessly against all human abuses – including human trafficking.
And Patrick’s prayer fits us well right now …
“May the Strength of God guide us.
May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Angels of God guard us.
– Against the snares of the evil one.”
Pastor Charles
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