Morality and Resurrected Life

- thoughts on the death of Lee Si-Yi

By Zheng Li

The death from starvation of Lee Si-Yi, a three year old girl in Chengdu, was due to negligence and irresponsibility on the part of police authorities, according to the newspapers. They describe her final state as having "a shrunken stomach" and "damaged heart, liver, lungs and kidneys". It is obvious that she died in horrible circumstances. One year after her death, the legal system has still not finished dealing with her case. The case has also reappeared in the media, and people are shocked and angry. But being already dead, she can no longer feel anything in this world.

Someone protesting this case posted their views on the web, "God has opened His arms to Si-Yi, 'Come, My dear child, come to Me. Here in Heaven, you will never again be hungry, afraid nor neglected...' I believe she is now at peace in the arms of God."

The cause of this tragedy was cruel negligence. The headline used by China News Network reporting this case was: "Law-enforcement authorities need to respect and reverence life". This kind of statement is rare in China. Especially the linking together of "fear and respect" with "life". The words "fear and respect" are "long-departed guests" in our society. They are no longer part of our daily conversation. Yet "fear and respect" occur in the Bible many times. According to the statistics, this word appears more than 100 times in the original text of the Bible, especially in the context of "being in awe of God".

To me, "respecting and reverencing life" means "to reverence the Creator of life", because if life existed only in the material realm, "to value and care for it" would already be a very high standard to meet. The phrase "respect and fear" expresses a kind of emotion that has recently started to emerge among Chinese. It implies respect of life itself and of the unseen world. This phrase is awakening the sleepy souls of Chinese people. The Chinese are trying to break out of their bondage to humanism and to turn their eyes toward the unknown light of Deity.

If there were no God, there would be no heaven and hell, or eternal judgment, and the consequences of this non-existence could be horrifying. The neglecting of life, the killing of conscience, and the deterioration of morality are examples of these consequences. Just like the famous saying, "If there is no God, then there is no judgment. So I can do anything I like." Actually if there is no eternal judgment, what would be so surprising about deteriorating morals and humanity being ruined?

There is nothing wrong with demanding that the authorities show respect and reverence for life. But how many people really respect and reverence life nowadays? Consider the circumstances of migrant laborers and minority peoples, and you will see it clearly. I am not saying that these issues or people are being totally neglected. But what we are doing about them as a society is very limited. It is true that "We cannot be guiltless, because we did not care enough" as the "Si-Yi" Newspaper Network website title described it.

Present economic developments in China are amazing, but the deterioration of morals is even more astonishing. "Money" has become our whole life-purpose. In the pursuit of wealth it is possible to forget about morality. Our whole society is filled with bribery, using money to buy power, hypocrisy, extra-marital sexual behavior, pornography and violence on the street, in books and magazines, and on the Internet. Where is there any heart for "respect and fear"? Purity of heart is a rare thing in our present time.

In recent years, the government has been trying to promote "Use morality to govern the country": A series of regulations have been enacted, and recently there have been movements to clean up the internet.

One day I saw a slogan posted beside an elevator in a university, encouraging students to use simple phrases like "please", "excuse me", "thank you" etc. These words should have been learned in kindergarten but are now being posted up to educate college students.

To better society is a significant endeavor for government or sociology researchers. But to solve social problems for good, we need to think of how to change human hearts. Without God or the Gospel, no matter what methods you adopt, like education or legal systems, you will only get rid of the problem to a certain extent, but never completely.

When God "saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5), He used the flood to judge the world. But not very long after that, the people forgot about God's authority and tried to establish a society based on humanism and ambition. They said, "let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name" (Genesis 11:4). History shows that the fall of man was due to disobedience to God, and man would have to face the consequences.

Two thousand years ago, on the hill of Golgotha, a cross was raised up. God's son Jesus came into the world to be nailed on that cross for us. At the moment when He breathed His last, the sun's light was blotted out... But on the morning of the third day, when one of Jesus followers, Mary, came to Jesus' tomb, all she found were Jesus' linen wrappings. His body was gone. Jesus' disciples were all shocked, but no-one could solve the mystery until the risen Jesus Himself appeared to them. Even then there were still some who did not believe. Today, two thousand years after Jesus' day, we do not need to doubt. Christ's resurrection life is now deeply rooted in the heart of many believers. Joy has replaced sorrow. Hope has taken away hopelessness. Contentment has taken the place of emptiness. Death and sin have lost their power... cold numbed hearts now know how to love, and how to respect and reverence life.

The author now lives in China.