This month JustKindHumility will explore what it is like to live with dignity.
How do you envision a life filled with dignity?
I was reminded that the right to live a life with dignity is actually provided for through international law. In the Sphere Handbook, an important humanitarian reference, it states the following:
“The right to life with dignity is reflected in the provisions of international law, and specifically the human rights measures concerning the right to life, to an adequate standard of living and to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Sphere further states:
“Dignity entails more than physical well-being; it demands respect for the whole person…” (Sphere, P.29)
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Esteem Respect Honor Wholeness
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In reading Genesis 1:27, we see that God intended man to be endowed with His perfect expression of dignity:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
In this beginning passage we can see how God views human dignity.
· How do you see dignity being expressed around you?
· In what ways do you see dignity being denied?
We also know from Scripture that God expressed anger and sadness toward those who crushed the dignity of others.
In Isaiah 10:1-2, the LORD says,
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.”
And in Zechariah 7:9-10, he says through the prophet,
“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor.
Do not plot evil against each other’.”
Questions to ponder:
How do you see yourself becoming a vessel for allowing dignity to flow to others?
Is there a way in which you have been a part of pushing human dignity aside in favor of other current issues?
In what ways will you seek God’s perspective for this?
Prayer: Lord, we are truly made in your image. Help us to protect and magnify your image in ourselves and others. Help us to see where we fall short so that we can aligned our hearts and lives with you, Lord. In Jesus perfect name we pray. Amen.
(1) Merriam-Webster dictionary, 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dignity
(2) The Sphere Association. 2018. The Sphere Handbook. Geneva, Switzerland: Practical Action Publishing.
i love this!