I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (Deuteronomy 30:19)
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
(Philippians 1:23-24)
With the recent hospitalization of my 92 year old mother I have had numerous health care personnel badger me as her health care power of attorney to place a “Do not resuscitate” order on my mother even though her pro-life health care directive calls for resuscitation. When they brought my mother out of surgery she had a red arm band on that read “DO NOT RESUSCITATE”.
They tried shaming me into compliance saying things like, “We need to simply accept when it is our time to go” and “we do not want to prolong their suffering”. So they are implying that if I do not comply with their “Do Not resuscitate order I not only want to defy God and refuse death at His appointed time but I also want my mother to suffer as long as possible.
Thankfully she did come through the surgery for a broken femur at the hip and was released to convalesce at a nursing home for two weeks. The nursing home again pressed for a “Do not Resuscitate” order. Instead I gave an order for them to take the red arm band off of my mother immediately.
After two weeks she was released from the nursing home and a home health nurse came to the house the next day prompting again for a “Do not resuscitate” order. Without hesitation I made it clear that there was to be no such order.
Does that mean that if my mom’s heart stops that I think CPR is required? Not necessarily. I was at my Father’s bedside as he passed from this side of Jordan. Did I jump up and start CPR and get out the defibrillator and commence shocking him? Of course not. He deserved to leave this world in peace.
So why would I object to a “Do not resuscitate” order?
1. IT IS AN INITIATION INTO EUGENICS
Welcome to your confirmation. You have just made a determination on the value of a human life based on your emotions. You are now engaging in eugenics and deciding that the “quality of life” is the determining factor of “the right to life.” You may now take your Mengele badge of honor.
Should a 10 year old be resuscitated if he falls over on the school grounds? What about a 35 year old mother of four? A sixty year old man? At what age do you determine that a person is not valuable anymore that they should be given such a decree that no matter what the circumstance is there should be no effort made to save their life?
Once everyone accepts that a DNR is reasonable the next step in the eugenic program will be pushed onto us to accept the decisions by bureaucrats on whether a person is quality enough to deserve any treatment…. Even food and water! Have you forgotten Terri Schiavo already?
If Christians do not rebuke the health care system for pushing the DNR the medical profession will slide quickly into the morass of medical eugenics.
2. WE CANNOT FORESEE THE FUTURE SITUATION
There is a vast difference between a person nearing death as they lay sick in bed with family gathered about for love and assurance and falling over in a public place.
If I am eating out with my mother at the Cracker Barrel for instance and she begins choking on her shrimp and passes out, 911 is going to be called and the ambulance will quickly be on it’s way.
Seeing that she is about to be whisked away by medical professionals and that she is already unconscious what is the harm of the ambulance staff attempting CPR or using the defibrillator? The medical establishment will scare you with the reply that there could be brain damage or broken ribs. If that is the problem why should it ever be used on anyone? In such cases not only is successful CPR rare but if they do come back and have suffered brain damage they usually only survive for a few more days.
As I told the home health nurse, one of our family members is present with my mother 24 hours a day. Why can’t we make a determination at the time according to the circumstance? Why should we prognosticate as if knowing the future?
3. THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEVING IN ONE’S OWN VALUE
The medical profession is now shaming people for desiring to live. They are told that resources are needed for the youth. They are discouraged from getting medical care and encouraged to accept their fate and if they disagree they are selfish and fearful of death. Health is more than pharmaceuticals and doctor coats. A sense of belonging and of purpose is essential to good health. It sends a devastating message to the elderly and infirm when the family determines they are not worth resuscitating. Even worse that the medical profession will put an ugly red DNR bracelet on their wrist as a constant and grim reminder.
3. IT IS UNNECESSARY
Why is such an order a necessity in the first place? Isn’t the role of the medical profession to preserve life? Aren’t they knowledgable enough to know what course of action is the best under the circumstance?
4. A DNR ORDER GIVES MEDICAL STAFF AN EASY OUT
A DNR order says to the medical profession that this person has accepted death so the impetus for the best and safest or expensive care is a less likely route to be taken. Do I have evidence of this? Nothing other than human nature. THE DNR ORDER SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE TO MEDICAL STAFF, FAMILY AND ESPECIALLY THE TARGET INDIVIDUAL.
5. IT IS UP TO GOD!
Advocates of the DNR say that if our heart stops we should accept that it is God’s time for us to go and not resist it. (This is assuming that we are at the point that they have determined there is no longer any value to our existence, they will not tell a young rich celebrity to accept a DNR because it is their time to go ) In other words it is the advocates of the DNR that are playing God and are determining when it is “our time to go”. Life and death are in the hands of the Lord but what about the person revived by CPR. Did they really just defy God’s timing? Or is God giving us the opportunity to show that all human life is valued regardless of ability.
Suppose after one round of CPR my mother’s heart should restart, then what? Am I then guilty of having given her a death sentence “before her time.” If she still lives how could the earlier moment have “been her time to go?” What if she lives another year or another decade? Did I make an unwise decision based on emotion and fear? Did I agree to a “do not resuscitate” order because I did not believe my mother’s life was worth rescuing? On what merits should I make that decision?
My Conclusion:
The Bible tells us that “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psa_116
Above all we must be sure our hearts are right with God at any time in our lives for none of us know what the day is going to bring. We can see the wickedness of the world all around us but is is often hard to recognize the wickedness in our own hearts but rest assured each of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Nothing imperfect or sinful is allowed in the heavenly gates of righteousness, holiness and perfection and no amount of good works is able to “outweigh” your sin. Sin is just too heavy we can’t make up for it ourselves. It would take someone already sinless to overcome sin and wickedness, who is so great in the measure of holiness and righteousness that all the garbage and sin of the world can be contained and overcome.
God is a spirit but he sent himself to take on human form to show how great his holiness is even when taking on human flesh. Then God showed his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. In order to prove that His love and mercy is greater than the wickedness of the world he allowed himself in human flesh to be executed by the very people that he was there to save. Now that is love.
What we must do to avail ourselves of God’s mercy is to ask forgiveness of our sin and to believe that Jesus the Christ came and died in our stead taking our sin upon himself at the cross and resurrected from the dead proving he conquered sin and death. Call on the name of Jesus. Turn from your sin today and then seek out a church or pastor who will baptize you for baptism is the profession of the Christian faith. Make sure your heart is right with God for today is the day of salvation.
Comments