When my son was a toddler, we attended a lovely event for people with his particular disability, Williams Syndrome. There was much good in this gathering, but I left deeply troubled. In almost every conversation I heard some form of that utilitarian worldview, that lie. Parents seemed bent on defending the worth of their children by explaining what good they brought to the world. When you believe that lie, you are forced to justify a person’s existence by demonstrating the way in which they contribute to society. 

With my arms still ailing through nerve damage, I thought it an appropriate time to ask a couple of friends to help ease the load just a little with some guest articles. Thus, today’s article is from my friend Paul Martin (who, as you know, also co-hosts my podcast). From here on out, you’re reading his words!

We were explaining our son’s disability to a neighbor one day when she asked, “Don’t they have a pre-natal test for that?” We knew the question behind the question. She was asking whether there was pre-birth screening that could have detected his disability and, if so, why we hadn’t taken it. In other words, if we could have aborted him, why didn’t we while we had the chance? Why hadn’t we aborted my son, the one playing on the lawn over there? She had the audacity to bluntly ask what so many only silently wonder.

I don’t hold it against her. That dear neighbor was only reflecting what I call a “Utilitarian” worldview, the idea that worth is determined by contribution. That worldview comes straight from Satan and should taste like poison when it hits your tongue since it is nothing short of the Nazi’s Operation T4 which paved the way to the Final Solution. We react with horror to that kind of thing, don’t we? Or do we?

When my son was a toddler, we attended a lovely event for people with his particular disability, Williams Syndrome. There was much good in this gathering, but I left deeply troubled. In almost every conversation I heard some form of that utilitarian worldview, that lie. Parents seemed bent on defending the worth of their children by explaining what good they brought to the world. When you believe that lie, you are forced to justify a person’s existence by demonstrating the way in which they contribute to society. For folks with Williams Syndrome, that is often something like, “Their smiles make the world a happier place.” Or, “They bring joy wherever they go.” That is nice sentiment but it falls flat. First of all, it is not always true. My friends with Williams Syndrome can make the world a very awkward, painful, or sad place. Second of all, even it were true, it would be a very flimsy reason to exist.

Looking for ways that people with special needs contribute to the world can be a fine exercise, but when it becomes the justification for their existence, you have bought the utilitarian tale. Human worth is not found in supposed contribution. The truth, according to God, is that people are valuable because they are made in His image. Value is all in relation to Him, not in what they bring to society. This is gloriously freeing. I do not have to justify the existence of my disabled son (or my “abled” daughters!) to anyone – their value is all bound up in the fact they were made in God’s image.

Did God Miss a Stitch?

Disability makes us ask a lot of questions though. Did God make a mistake when He sewed together the little girl with Patau Syndrome? Did He miss a stitch? The short answer is no. God has His own purposes in mind when He created our friends with disabilities. For instance, “Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?’” (Exodus 4:11). These are God’s words to the disabled Moses, the man with some form of speech impediment, but they hold true for us all. God did not make a mistake when He made the disabled. He did not momentarily lose focus or find His power eclipsed by some interfering evil force. At no point does the Bible teach that the disabled lack or lost the image of God.

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