A God that Values Humans First

One of the most amazing things we (Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor & former pastor Jim Myers) discovered in the opening creation account in our shared scriptures is this -- the most valued creation of the mysterious Creator of the Heavens and the Earth is humans. Every act of creation in the first account is directly or indirectly related to meeting the needs of humans. This is a core principle of this wisdom account. And, as you probably know, the Creator even created humans “In the image of the Creator” – all humans not just members of one tribe or religion.

Another core principle in this account is revealed by what the Creator did in the process of creation. The Creator used a Standard to measure its work – the TOV Standard. For an act to measure up to the TOV Standard, the act must protect and preserve lives, make lives more functional and increase the quality of life.

One other core principle in the account is that the Creator did not reveal anything about what type of creature it is or anything it had done prior to the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. We call this the mystery of the Creator.

Let’s review the three core wisdom principles introduced above:

● The mystery of the Creator.

● Every act of creation is directly or indirectly related to meeting the needs of humans.

● The Creature used the TOV Standard.

This makes “human lives” the highest value of the Creator. That’s the lesson the author of this ancient wisdom text wanted readers to clearly understand. In the accounts that follow, readers learn the downfalls of gender inequality, valuing property above human lives, the breakdown of the family, valuing religious rituals above human lives, parents failing to teach their children Lives 1^st values and wisdom principles, failing to control appetites, desires, longings and anger, engaging in recreational violence and murder– which can all be summed up in one of the most repeated verses of the Bible -- “Am I my brother’s keeper?” We discovered all of this in the first four chapters of Genesis!

Another important part of the TOV Center approach is that we combine the values and principles of this ancient wisdom with the discoveries and knowledge of modern science. You will be amazed to discover how often ancient wisdom and modern science agree. This combination gives us exciting new options for dealing with challenges, issues, conflicts and problems we are facing today. History repeatedly records the horrible acts that human are capable of doing to other humans, when they value things above human lives – especially power, money and religious beliefs.

Just think about the impact this could have on lives today, if Lives 1^st went viral and people began learning the skills needed to protect and preserve lives, make lives more functional, increase the quality of life -- and promote transparency. We call that vision the Lives 1^st Initiative and promote #doingwhatslife over doing whatever people on both sides of every conflict call “right.”

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Make #doingwhatslife part of your decision making process today!