You're Looking at People All Wrong
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.'"
Genesis 1:26
Think about the last person who made you sigh.
You probably did not have to think very long.
Maybe it was the coworker who turns every simple task into a committee meeting. Maybe it was the relative who can find a conspiracy theory in a weather forecast. Maybe it was the person in traffic who apparently believes turn signals are a sign of weakness.
Give us two seconds, and our minds start doing the math. We rank people by how useful, agreeable, impressive, attractive, productive, or irritating they are. We decide who matters, who is in the way, and who is not worth the trouble.
Most of the time we do it without noticing.
Genesis 1 tells us that we are looking at people all wrong.
Start at the Beginning
If we want to understand a building, we do not begin with the paint. We begin with the foundation. If we want to understand a river, we do not begin where it is wide and muddy. We go upstream and find the source.
And if we want to understand people - really understand them - we cannot begin with what they do, what they produce, or how they make us feel. We have to go back to where people began.
The first chapter of Genesis moves with a steady rhythm. God speaks, and creation obeys. "Let there be light." "Let there be an expanse." "Let the earth bring forth living creatures." Oceans, stars, animals, and entire galaxies appear at the sound of His voice.
Then the rhythm breaks.
God does not simply say, "Let there be man." He says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."
The language slows us down. There is intention. Deliberation. Purpose.
Human beings are not cosmic accidents, unusually clever animals, or bags of chemicals that learned to walk. We are creatures God intentionally made in His own image.
That is where every honest doctrine of humanity has to begin.
Worth Before Work
Notice what Adam has accomplished when God gives him this dignity.
Nothing.
He has not worked a day, earned a dollar, passed a test, raised a family, served a church, or won anyone's approval. Adam has no resume. He has not made himself useful to God.
And he is already crowned with dignity.
His value was designed into him before he ever drew a breath. Human worth does not come from what a person contributes. It comes from the God whose image that person bears.
The world tells us that value rises and falls with usefulness. The unborn child is not useful yet. The elderly parent may no longer be useful in the ways he once was. The severely disabled person may never produce anything the world can measure. The person who has wrecked his life may seem to have used up every reason for us to care.
Genesis 1 says value was never ours to assign.
No one can climb high enough to earn more human dignity. No one can fall far enough to lose it.
The Mission Begins with Sight
This changes more than an argument about human dignity. It changes the way we disciple, evangelize, serve, correct, forgive, and love.
We cannot faithfully reach people we have quietly decided are beneath us. We cannot make disciples while treating difficult people as interruptions to the real ministry. We cannot say we believe in the image of God while looking through the image-bearer standing in front of us.
If we misunderstand people, we will misunderstand our mission.
Before we ask what is wrong with a person, Genesis asks us to remember what that person was made to be. Before we see an opponent, addict, problem, voter, customer, inmate, patient, stranger, or inconvenience, we are looking at someone made by God.
That does not mean everyone is innocent. Genesis 3 is coming, and it will tell the truth about all of us. But the Bible begins with dignity before it moves to depravity. So should we.
You have never met a mere category. You have never met a disposable person. You have never met someone whose value depends upon your assessment.
You have never met a nobody.
Multiplication Moment
Choose one person you have been mentally ranking as less. Do not begin by trying to change the person. Begin by asking God to change the way you see the person.
Before you pray, say this out loud:
"This person bears Your image."
Then take one step toward that person this week in truth and love.
This article was adapted from the Doctrine of Man Sunday School series, taught by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church.
Genesis 1:26
Think about the last person who made you sigh.
You probably did not have to think very long.
Maybe it was the coworker who turns every simple task into a committee meeting. Maybe it was the relative who can find a conspiracy theory in a weather forecast. Maybe it was the person in traffic who apparently believes turn signals are a sign of weakness.
Give us two seconds, and our minds start doing the math. We rank people by how useful, agreeable, impressive, attractive, productive, or irritating they are. We decide who matters, who is in the way, and who is not worth the trouble.
Most of the time we do it without noticing.
Genesis 1 tells us that we are looking at people all wrong.
Start at the Beginning
If we want to understand a building, we do not begin with the paint. We begin with the foundation. If we want to understand a river, we do not begin where it is wide and muddy. We go upstream and find the source.
And if we want to understand people - really understand them - we cannot begin with what they do, what they produce, or how they make us feel. We have to go back to where people began.
The first chapter of Genesis moves with a steady rhythm. God speaks, and creation obeys. "Let there be light." "Let there be an expanse." "Let the earth bring forth living creatures." Oceans, stars, animals, and entire galaxies appear at the sound of His voice.
Then the rhythm breaks.
God does not simply say, "Let there be man." He says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."
The language slows us down. There is intention. Deliberation. Purpose.
Human beings are not cosmic accidents, unusually clever animals, or bags of chemicals that learned to walk. We are creatures God intentionally made in His own image.
That is where every honest doctrine of humanity has to begin.
Worth Before Work
Notice what Adam has accomplished when God gives him this dignity.
Nothing.
He has not worked a day, earned a dollar, passed a test, raised a family, served a church, or won anyone's approval. Adam has no resume. He has not made himself useful to God.
And he is already crowned with dignity.
His value was designed into him before he ever drew a breath. Human worth does not come from what a person contributes. It comes from the God whose image that person bears.
The world tells us that value rises and falls with usefulness. The unborn child is not useful yet. The elderly parent may no longer be useful in the ways he once was. The severely disabled person may never produce anything the world can measure. The person who has wrecked his life may seem to have used up every reason for us to care.
Genesis 1 says value was never ours to assign.
No one can climb high enough to earn more human dignity. No one can fall far enough to lose it.
The Mission Begins with Sight
This changes more than an argument about human dignity. It changes the way we disciple, evangelize, serve, correct, forgive, and love.
We cannot faithfully reach people we have quietly decided are beneath us. We cannot make disciples while treating difficult people as interruptions to the real ministry. We cannot say we believe in the image of God while looking through the image-bearer standing in front of us.
If we misunderstand people, we will misunderstand our mission.
Before we ask what is wrong with a person, Genesis asks us to remember what that person was made to be. Before we see an opponent, addict, problem, voter, customer, inmate, patient, stranger, or inconvenience, we are looking at someone made by God.
That does not mean everyone is innocent. Genesis 3 is coming, and it will tell the truth about all of us. But the Bible begins with dignity before it moves to depravity. So should we.
You have never met a mere category. You have never met a disposable person. You have never met someone whose value depends upon your assessment.
You have never met a nobody.
Multiplication Moment
Choose one person you have been mentally ranking as less. Do not begin by trying to change the person. Begin by asking God to change the way you see the person.
Before you pray, say this out loud:
"This person bears Your image."
Then take one step toward that person this week in truth and love.
This article was adapted from the Doctrine of Man Sunday School series, taught by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church.
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