Image of God: The root of human dignity

There is no question that we are living in a time of great moral confusion. In particular, the value of human life is no longer self-evident, as it was to our founding fathers, but rather is under constant debate and attack. As Catholics, we believe in the inherent, infinite dignity of every human person. That dignity is rooted in our creation. In the beginning, “… God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). The Catechism of the Catholic Church goes on to explain, “Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone.” (CCC 357)

Unfortunately, led astray by our inclination to sin and enticement by the Evil One, we have often used our free will to tear one another down, instead of building one another up. We have created barriers and placed conditions or bestowed degrees upon the value of human life. For example, a person has less value if he is unborn, elderly, poor, mentally challenged, physically challenged, terminally ill… The list goes on and on.

First as Catholics, and second as leaders in our businesses and communities, we must be especially vigilant against any attacks on the human person. In some ways, perhaps the obvious issues can be the easier ones to handle. For example, we all know that abortion and euthanasia are grave violations of human dignity and we must never support them. Potentially harder to discern is whether the dignity of the human person is affirmed and protected appropriately within our businesses. Do we treat each of our employees as an individual made in the image of God and possessing infinite worth, from our fellow executives right on down to the custodians and everyone in between? Do we truly see them as more than statistics within our operations budget, but as people created and loved by God? And is it our goal to help them get to heaven?

Honoring the dignity of the human person is not a onetime decision. It is rather a constant ‘yes’ to the moments we face on a daily basis where we can choose life. Let us then make this decision in our own lives, whenever and wherever it greets us, treating all of our fellow human beings in just the same way as we would treat Christ Himself. After all, “… he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn. 4:20).

STEPHEN M. HENLEY is Legatus’ executive director.