CLAIM:
Assisted suicide should be considered an option when people cannot agree on whether treatment extends life or prolongs the dying process.

REBUTTAL:
Nothing gets us lost in the part like the ability to make decisions. We quickly presume to be masters of our fate, captains of our ship, and the final word on who lives or dies—or at least when it applies to ourselves.

As I have pointed out in previous entries, matters of life and death are God’s domain (Deuteronomy 32:39). If that is true, we might wonder why we can make decisions. After all, if God is the author and terminator of life, why do we have central roles in making babies? Why do we have the ability to terminate the lives of others or self-terminate?

Consider this parallel: Our local, state, and federal governments have the authority to establish speed limits on the roads. They have this power primarily to ensure public safety. Establishing the speed limit, however, does not prevent us from making choices about how fast to travel on those roads. With a slightly firmer press on the gas pedal, we soon find ourselves traveling 40 or 50 mph in a 35 mph speed zone. The fact that we can drive faster does not make it right. The fact that we get away with it doesn’t make it right.

Likewise, God has provided parameters for how we treat life. It is his prerogative to create and end life, and he has made it clear that we are not to usurp that authority but to protect and care for life (Exodus 20:13; Matthew 25:35-40; Galatians 6:2).

Like all the decisions we can make, some are good and some are bad (Joshua 24:15). Some decisions represent an earnest desire to do what pleases God (Colossians 1:9-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:4). Other decisions reflect a backsliding desire to please ourselves (1 Peter 1:14; James 3:14-16).

For these reasons, even when it becomes difficult to navigate whether our treatment choices are preserving life or prolonging the dying process, check your heart. What is your motive (Hebrews 11:6)?

End-of-life decision-making is often more a test of faith than a reliable science. Sometimes, it is difficult to know if life is coming to an end or if this is a struggle that needs to be addressed with treatment. I suggest you do the following:

1. Pray for a pure heart (Psalm 51:10) so that your motives may be God-pleasing as you navigate the challenges.
2. Seek out trustworthy medical counsel. Everyone has a bias, including medical personnel. Perhaps their bias is to glorify God above all things first. Perhaps their bias is more worldly, rejecting the idea of sustaining care for life based on a loss of quality. When in doubt, seek out the counsel of an objective medical person as a second opinion. Additionally, seek the guidance of your pastor to recognize when a bias is present and how to address it effectively.
3. Decide from the position of faith. Provide a witness that your decision is rooted in Jesus as your eternal Savior. If you provide life-sustaining care, share your conviction that God has called us to protect and preserve life. Your obedience reflects your gratitude as you seek to obey God’s will (John 15:14; Philippians 1:27). If you believe death is imminent (to occur within a few hours or days), testify to your conviction that even in death, there is life (1 Corinthians 15:12-22; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).
4. Decide with confidence. Trust God that even when you make a wrong decision, he will work things out for the good of his people (Romans 8:28).

On Armistice Day, November 11, 1948 (later renamed Veterans Day starting in 1954), U.S. General Omar Bradley made this keen observation:

We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount…. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.

Simply put, we have significantly expanded our capabilities in certain areas, such as medicine. Unfortunately, we have not grown as rapidly with our ethics. Failing to find consensus in some end-of-life decision-making happens. As a child of God, begin with what you know with certainty:

1. God does not want you to terminate life (Exodus 20:13).
2. God wants you to care for life (Matthew 25:35-40).
3. God wants you to trust in eternal life after death (John 11:25).