The word “sacred” sounds like a crusty, rusty, dusty, obsolete religious term. However, we all have things that we hold to be sacred, and the sacred determines what we fight for.
One definition of sacred is, “Dedicated or set apart for the worship of a deity; devoted exclusively to one service or use (as of a person or purpose).” Another is, “Unassailable, inviolable; highly valued and important.”
Based on this second definition, as silly as it might sound, even something as simple as the family dog can be considered sacred. My wife's former family dog, Dozer, had to be put down in October of 2024 due to cancer. He was loved and cherished deeply by the whole family. After his passing, our 2 year old niece saw a picture of him and asked, “Who is that?” Her grandma, my wife’s mother, responded, “That’s Dozer!” My niece looked intently at the picture for a moment and said decidedly, “I don’t really like Dozer.” Her grandma, with a smile on her face, promptly responded in a very loving and lighthearted way, “No, we love Dozer! He was the best!”
To my 2 year old niece, who hadn’t known Dozer, he wasn’t sacred. But to us, he was worthy of every ounce of love we could offer a dog, and therefore worth convincing my niece that he was indeed "highly valued and important.”
Obviously, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter whether my niece believed Dozer was “sacred” or not. In typical toddler fashion, she made a spur of the moment, feisty claim. It was mostly for fun that we even tried to change her mind. I use this illustration to highlight the fact that our hearts are riddled with somewhat trivial objects of sacredness. Your favorite sports team, musical artist, movie, show, car model, celebrity, etc. can all be held as sacred. You might even think they’re worth defending as such.
At the same time, our hearts are also convinced of things that are deeply sacred to us–worth defending more earnestly than the family dog or a cultural fascination. This is where the first definition of “sacred” comes into play—things that people believe have divine origin and/or purpose. Religion, human rights, family, friends, ideas, flag, and country are some of the more prominent examples. People are willing to go to war over these things—if not literally, then at least verbally.
Additionally, not only do humans find things sacred, but God also has an idea of what is sacred. In fact, the Bible argues that humans ought to determine the sacred by the most sacred Himself. This can be seen in passages like the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 or the Greatest Commandment taught by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40.
Over the rest of creation, God finds human life to be the most sacred. In the creation narrative (Genesis chapters 1-2), God determines to make mankind in His image and likeness. No other created thing has this same status. For that reason, God makes a point to say that humans who murder other humans ought to have their own lives taken away (Genesis 9:6). This isn’t because God has little regard for human life, but rather because He regards it so highly that He thinks those who disregard it ought to be disregarded themselves in order not to perpetuate murder. It’s a blending of the two definitions of “sacred”—human beings are called to be set apart for the purposes of God, which makes them unassailable, inviolable, highly valued, and important.
Unfortunately, a large swath of our nation seems to be at odds with God concerning the sacredness of human life. This is evidenced by the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk. Within hours after his passing, I saw comments on social media with tens of thousands of likes that essentially said he had it coming to him. Some of these people even had Bible verses in their profile biographies! At that moment, a sad revelation dawned on me—many in our nation are so filled with hate that they’re willing to openly condone innocent bloodshed. A tragic event that should have brought sorrow actually brought about celebration. This is the marker of a culture that views death and violence as a means to an end. It is completely antichrist.
As Christians, if God regards human life as deeply sacred and worth defending, so should we. We should not be surprised that the world is acting like the world, full of murderous hatred, but we should be distressed. That distress needs to motivate us to preach the gospel all the more urgently. People do not realize that they are storing up the wrath of God against themselves (Romans 2:5) and the nation (Psalm 110:6). They don’t realize that hatred leads to more senseless violence against innocent people (1 John 3:15). They don’t realize that they are under the spell of the devil and that their life is heading towards destruction (Ephesians 6:12; John 10:10). The only remedy to that spell is the gospel.
What is sacred is worth fighting for. We ourselves are called to be sacred—set apart for the service and worship of God (1 Peter 2:9-10). As the church, we must fulfill this call in order to be a prophetic witness to the world. To extinguish evil. To fight the good fight of faith. To tell people about a holy God. To stand up for what is sacred.
Nick has been attending COTR since 2000. He is an associate pastor and heads up our discipleship ministry, Impact Academy. Nick and his wife, Sera, have two kittens, Gloria and Toffee, and a baby boy, Elliot. They enjoy coffee, walks, music, art, and Mexican food.
We’d love to hear from you. Use the questions below as a way to share your own story and encourage others in the comments.
What are some things in your life—big or small—that you would consider “sacred”? Why?
How do you think our society decides what is sacred today? Where do you see this clashing with God’s definition of sacred?
If “what is sacred is worth fighting for,” how do we fight for sacred things in ways that reflect the heart of Christ rather than the hatred of the world?