The Greater Good

There are many examples in literature and history of one man dying for the greater good of the many. Sometimes it is to save lives, other times to improve living conditions. The question is, is it worth it? Here are just a few of those examples:

In the movie Master and Commander, a sailor, by the name of Wharley, falls overboard during a storm when the mast that he is on snaps. His only hope of rescue is to grab onto the yardarm of the mast as it is tossed in the waves, dragged along by the ropes that still attach it to the ship. The problem is that the yardarm in the water is acting as an anchor, dragging the ship down and putting it in great risk of capsizing and sinking, and taking the entire crew down with it. The captain, "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, is forced to make the decision to cut the ropes holding the yardarm to the ship, thus leaving Wharley to die in the midst of the storm. His life is taken so that the rest of the crew may live on. Was it worth it? In this case, I would say yes since, there was not much chance of his being rescued and, in the attempt, everyone else may have gone down with him. However, there was a slight chance that both he and the ship may have been saved, but it was not very likely. As Jack Aubrey said, "one must always choose the lesser of the two weevils (evils)."

Raskolnikov, the main character in the book Crime and Punishment, comes up with the same idea, that sometimes it is necessary for a select few to die that society as a whole may prosper by it. He carries out his idea by murdering an old pawnbroker who owns large sums of money, while those around her live in poverty. His crime is eventually found out when he can no longer live with his own conscience and admits to doing it. This time, however, the death of one does not aid the many, but, instead, makes more people suffer. Was it worth it? In my opinion, even though Raskonlnikov may have become a better person after all of his trials, it was not worth taking the life of the old woman and, as it ended up, her sister.

Those are both fictional stories, but there is a prominent example in history of the notion found in the man Jesus. He also died, suffering a cruel death, so that others may live and have better lives. His death allows others to escape the wrath of God for their rebellion against him. While they are sometimes persecuted for believing in his death and the salvation that comes from it, their lives are in many ways better because of the forgiveness for their rebelliousness and the hope for the future. Was Jesus' death worth it? I would emphatically say yes.