The Ethics of the End of Your Days

Pulling the silver cord

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Christ, our Lord, speaks these words to us in Matthew 6:27.  Yet, for so many people, discussions about the end of our lives are filled with anxiety and uncertainty.  And it’s even more anxious when we have to make an end of life decision for one of our loved ones.  We are presented with options, none of which seems to be a clear “right” answer, and then wonder in the years to come if you made the right decision in that moment.  The time to have these discussions is now, in the comfort of your home, or a coffee shop, or in the middle of your Bible study.  The place to have that discussion is not in that 30 seconds that the Doctor needs your answer.  So let’s tackle some of those difficult end of life discussions today.

First, let’s define some terms.  Euthanasia is the term for those who seek to have their lives ended by their decision, with the help of another, typically a member of the medical community.  The word itself means, “good death.”  But there is no death that is good, there is a good life that has been lived, there is death that has been defeated, but there is no good death.  Death itself is a corruption of creation, introduced when sin entered and changed everything (Romans 5).  There are times when death is unavoidable.  My mind immediately jumps to the one warrior, who stays behind to slow the enemy, and allow the rest of his comrades escape.  But this is not the situation we’re encountering day to day in our hospitals.

So, what do we do when someone asks us if it’s time to, “pull the cord.”  Luther writes in the small catechism that, “We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.”  Pulling the plug definitely sounds like not offering help to our neighbor who is in definite bodily need.  Yet it might be the right decision.  How could that be? 

Consider what our Lord says in Mark 7:20 – 23 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  The problem stems from our hearts.  Which means our intention is what matters.  If God has decided that Grandpa Schmidt who is on a respirator will live for weeks yet, then he will live those weeks even if we pull the plug.  But if God has decided that today is the day Grandpa Schmidt enters paradise, then no respirator in the world can stop Him.  Now let’s consider two hypothetical scenarios.  Jimmy pulls the plug, because he can’t bear to see Grandpa Schmidt suffer anymore.  Meanwhile, in our other hypothetical, Steve pulls the plug because he knows that Grandpa Schmidt is baptized, and knows that Jesus is in control.  Jimmy has committed a selfish act, even if it’s the same thing that Steve did.  Jimmy couldn’t bear to see it, so Jimmy solves that problem by ending Grandpa’s life.  Steve acknowledged God’s control, and lets Grandpa Schmidt rest in God’s hands.

But what about all the “Jimmy”s out there?  Thanks be to God that we have a merciful savior.  Repent, and believe in the Gospel.  Just as we confess in the Divine Service, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  Confess your sins, and Jesus will take it from you, just as He has taken all the rest of your sins.  For He has conquered death, and will raise all of us to new life: Jimmy, Steve, Grandpa Schmidt, and all believers.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.