For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.   Romans 8:5-9

When I was in college, I took a chapel class that discussed controversial social issues.  Two of those were suicide and euthanasia.   Since my time in college and in the context of chronic illness, both of these choices have been gaining acceptance in our culture.  The basic premise in their justification is that the person dying is ending their life with greater dignity and grace.   To be sure, the aging process and health concerns such as dementia, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, strokes, cancer, etc. often bring on many indignities before finally ending life.  However, to take matters into our own hands rather than relying on God’s timing is willful and contrary to God’s precepts.  Rather than providing dignified death, it is either giving up or a defiant act in that it denies God’s goodness, wisdom, love and purposes.  A death that is truly dignified is much more graceful and determined than suicide or euthanasia.

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