Late last year, terminally ill Brittany Maynard, age 29, chose to die by her own hand in a well-publicized suicide. She was 29 years old. Brittany used legally-prescribed lethal drugs under Oregon’s assisted suicide law on Saturday November 1, 2014.

She is quoted as saying, “Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more,” Brittany wrote on Facebook. “The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type …. Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!”

Contrast her decision with that of Lauren Hill, 19 years old, also diagnosed with a terminal illness called DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) which is inoperable and with a zero survival rate. Lauren not only chooses to live but this St. Joseph University freshman played basketball on the very next day that Brittany Maynard chose to die.

“On Sunday, Lauren Hill played her first and only college basketball game despite her rapidly declining health. She did it in front of 10,250 watery-eyed locals, with a few celebrities to boot. She scored a layup on the first possession of the game, and scored another basket just before the final buzzer. The game was held at Xavier’s Cintas Center, and MSJ beat Hiram 66-55. It very well could have been held at Paul Brown Stadium if not for the Jaguars/Bengals game — the only difference would have been that there would have been more tears.

On the way to the game Sunday, I watched my 8- and 9-year-old daughters in the back seat of the car, innocently tapping away on an IPad, fussing over whose turn it was to play. Ten years ago, that was Lauren. Lauren probably sat in her parents Brent and Lisa Hill’s backseat, no doubt fighting with her younger siblings, Nate and Erin, on the way to who knows where.” (Per Chris Mack, Special for USA TODAY Sports November 3, 2014.)

Lauren wishes to live as long as possible to publicize her illness with the hope that researchers may eventually find a cure so others may not die from DIPG.

Did one choose life thinking of others while continuing to suffer, while the other chose death concerned only with self? Regardless, it is a sad situation in both cases.

Do we today consider children as a gift from God? Since post WWII, children have often been viewed as a burden, not a blessing! They are sometimes considered a financial yoke. They may be thought a hindrance to the aspirations of the working mother. During the 1950’s, 8% of our homes consisted of a double income. In the 2010 census , 80% have a double income. They are sometimes considered a disturbance to the “peace” of the home. And sadly, many are physically and sexually abused in their own homes, the place that was meant to be safe!

Children are a “gift from God” and if they have survived the most dangerous place on earth (mother’s womb) there are many more pitfalls along the road of young life! More than fifty-five million children have been lost to abortion in the United States (and four hundred million in China) since 1973! There is a wonderful ministry called “Save the Children.” It reaches out to the international poorest of the poor. The question I present to you is — what about our own? With “save the Children” we can sooth the conscience with a few dollars, but with our own, it takes hard work for a good chunk of our life.

What can we do to protect and provide for our children—a gift from God?

• Have them! Don’t believe the lie that children are too expensive or a burden to the happiness of a marriage. Actually, it’s the other way around. I have had 7 children and God has always provided. By the time I’m 80 there will be approximately 80 members in my immediate family to impact the world!
• Teach them! The primary responsibility for our children’s education is ours, not the local public school. We have to stand before God some day and give an account for that responsibility. Get involved in their education!
• Show them! Children don’t expect perfection from their parents but they do expect guidance and a lack of hypocrisy. They will most likely choose our standards, principles and convictions and what are they going to be?
• Win them! Lead them to a relationship with God. There is a battle going on for our children and we must win the battle.
• Pray for them! Intercede before God on their behalf. Ask the Lord to bless them and make them a blessing to their generation. Remember, they are a gift from God and to God we must go for guidance on how to raise them.

Reverend Steve Nash is Pastor of Christian Community Chapel in Hillsborough, NJ, and a member of our Advisory Board.