Dementia and imago dei

How we measure a person's worth determines how we treat them but also how we see ourselves. The messages we hear from the culture and from our closest influences feed into that understanding. Am I worth something based on my education or salary? Am I worth something because I am married and have children? Am I worth something because of physical abilities or beauty? Am I worth something because my kids have turned out okay and I am set for retirement? These things, which are not bad in themselves, are temporal and can change in a heartbeat. What are we left with when an incurable disease is chipping away at our ability to function at the most basic level?

One of the saddest things I have heard from a person with memory loss is, "I can't do what I used to anymore. What is the point of living?" Is that true or is there another source of value that goes deeper? I think there is. We have to go back to imago dei - being made in the image of God.

dementia is a threat to the basic values of Western culture. Society values youth, wit, independence, and control. We are tempted to equate our individual value with our IQs and our ability to accomplish things. Dementia will likely threaten both. One lesson we can learn from those with dementia is that value can be found in something other than our cognitive abilities and usefulness... Of even greater value is the fact that they, being made in the image of God and loved by him, possess inherent dignity.

Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia, John Dunlop MD, Crossway, 2017, pg. 15.