Humanity is not just a manatee named Hugh

If someone kills a man to save a child, he is called a hero. However, nowadays, if he kills a gorilla to save a child, he’s harshly criticized. CBS News wrote: “The killing of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo in order to save a child who fell in its enclosure has sparked nationwide outrage.”

Human life has been so cheapened in contemporary Western society many would choose an animal’s life over a person’s life. Why? There are many reasons:

Our constant exposure to killing and gore in both media news and media entertainment;
Our continual brainwashing that a prenatal human life is nothing more than tissue and is disposable at the choice of her/his mother.
The justification and glorification of war that saturates our culture.
The brainwashing that declares evolution to be a fact and humans to be nothing more than a mere product of natural selection.
Racism, nationalism, and other isms that (even subtly) declare other human beings to be inferior to us.
Our culture’s almost complete ignoring (and or denying) of the living God and of the value He places on every, individual human life.
Our society’s focus on self-interest and insufficient focus on passionate, self-sacrificing love for others.

Because of this, we have lost sight of the fact that people are not just a manatee named Hugh. We are not just large mammals with personal names and ID cards. We humans are priceless — more precious and valuable than anything on earth. Why? Because:

We are not just physical beings, but also spiritual beings.
We each have a soul that will exist forever.
We are made in the likeness of the Creator of the Universe.
We are passionately loved by God even though every one of us has rebelled against Him.
God has demonstrated His love for every human by becoming a man in Jesus Christ and dying a cruel death on a cross in order to make a way for each of us to return to Him and enjoy Him forever.