TOUGH DECISION
Thu, 09/01/2016 - 12:00am
By:
Patricia Thangaraj
Discontinuing life support is one of the most difficult and complex decisions a family can make.
This is because they do not want to be accused of killing someone if they make the difficult decision to take that person off that critical support, said Alan Robinson, a Pastor of Community Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Speaking with The Barbados Advocate on the sidelines of the Kingdom of God conference recently at the Grace Bible Church, he said that the decision should be based on if the person is still breathing.
“How do you make a decision to turn the machine off? We would say pull the plug and my answer is that God is the one who has breathed into our bodies, our nostrils the breath of life and when that breath leaves, then we are dead, we no longer have life.”
Therefore, from both a moral and legal standpoint, a person cannot be held accountable if they decide to turn off the machine after that patient has stopped breathing, he stated.
“And so when you are faced with the difficult decision of a person who is on life support, do I turn this machine off? If I turn it off, am I going to be responsible for my mother dying or my loved one? My child? And the answer that I give is ‘no’. God’s breath is in us. If we turn that machine off and that person dies, then that lets us know that the spirit was gone long before the machine was ever turned off. If you turn it off and they continue breathing, then they still have God’s spirit in them.”
Robinson said that he is not against life support because he recognises that there are times when it is necessary.
“Now I am fully an advocate for life support. It is a question of, what do I do when it comes time to turn it off? Then what do I do? There are many cases where having life support is necessary, because as I said sometimes when you turn off the machine, the person is still living and it gives time and opportunity for the doctors to work on them and save their life.”
However, one needs to abide by the Bible when making this decision.
“God has made us for a purpose. When man received God’s breath into his nostrils, the word that God uses there in the Old Testament is a unique word and it is only used of God and man not of animals. So man is unique in His creation and He has a plan and a purpose for us, and it also then lets us know how important you and I are to God.”
He continued, “We’re the apex, we’re the height of His creation and He has something planned for us and He is moving His plan forward everyday that goes by. And one day when the Lord Jesus returns, He is going to bring that to completion through the return of His Son, Jesus Christ, and spirit, soul and body will be fully redeemed and saved together into His kingdom where we can reign with Him, serve Him, worship Him, praise Him.”