Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  I never took philosophy.  I don’t know everything that was behind that statement, but it keeps popping up in the oddest of places.  I keep hearing it from the pulpit.  It’s usually delivered as part of an exhortation to look at our own lives critically and discern what is good and what is not.  The message is Biblical.  I’m probably a bit too introspective, but this quote bothers me.

It bothers me because it puts man’s value on life rather than God’s.  Life is precious because God creates and loves it, not because we made it worthwhile through our own efforts.  If we take this quote at face value, abortion is ok, because a life has no value until or unless its owner can examine it and gives it worth.  Beyond that, anyone who will not or cannot engage in such evaluation has no hope to achieve a status worthy of existence.  This is not God’s way.

It’s good to make use of cultural references to teach the truth.  Paul did it.  However, we should use wisdom in so doing.  Your worth is determined by Jesus.  He thought you were worth dying for.  The examination of your life in comparison to God’s standard is a necessary component of Christian growth, but don’t let any man, no matter how intelligent, famous, or profound, tell you what your life is worth.