There is no greater affirmation of how valuable every man, woman, and child is to God than Jesus’ death on the cross. Giving up his own life was how far God was willing to go to let us know we are exceedingly precious to him. He could not have gone any further.
But perhaps next to that — albeit in negative terms — comes Jesus teaching regarding what stands to happen to us if we even speak disparagingly of one another. Here’s what he said,
“…whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery hell.” Matthew 5:22
Here’s what I think he was implying. Since God regards everyone in our lives as infinitely valuable to him, that makes anything we do that depreciates that value — even if it’s just done with words — infinitely scandalous, worthy of hellfire.
Just think of that for a moment and you will realize how far the human family has fallen from how God views people and what that means when it comes to crime and punishment.
