Artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of everyday life. We use it to answer questions, create images, write essays, recommend music, and even help with difficult problems. I’ve been thinking, journaling, and praying about my use of and response to artificial intelligence. As AI continues to develop, it raises an important question: What makes human beings valuable?
At first, this might seem like a strange question. Of course people have value. But as technology becomes capable of doing more of the things that once required human intelligence and creativity, it is worth asking where our value actually comes from.
Our culture often connects a person’s worth to what they can accomplish. We may feel valuable when we get good grades, succeed at work, create something impressive, or receive recognition from other people. But if our value depends on what we can do, what happens when someone can no longer perform at the same level? What happens when a machine can do something faster or better than we can?
The Bible gives us a different answer.
Genesis 1:27 says that God created humanity in His own image. This means that our worth does not come from our accomplishments, intelligence, appearance, popularity, or productivity. Human beings have inherent value because we were created by God and made in His image.
That changes the way we should think about artificial intelligence. AI may be able to imitate writing, art, conversation, and other forms of human creativity, but it does not change the value of the person who created those things. Technology can reproduce certain abilities, but it cannot determine what makes a human life valuable.
This also reminds us that Christians do not have to respond to new technology with either fear or blind excitement. We can approach AI with wisdom. It can be a useful tool, but it should remain a tool rather than becoming the source of our identity or worth.
Using AI wisely means making ethical choices in ordinary parts of life. In school, for example, a student might use AI to explain a difficult concept, suggest practice questions, or help organize ideas. However, submitting an AI-generated essay as if it were entirely the student’s own work would be dishonest. Christians are called to value truth and integrity, even when cheating seems easy or unlikely to be discovered. A wise student can use AI as a tutor without allowing it to replace personal learning, effort, or responsibility.
The same principle applies at work. AI might help an employee summarize information, brainstorm ideas, analyze data, or complete repetitive tasks. Those uses can save time and allow people to focus on more meaningful responsibilities.
However, workers should not use AI to create false reports, take credit for someone else’s work, manipulate customers, or make important decisions without checking whether the information is accurate and fair. Christians should also be careful with confidential information. Private details about clients, coworkers, patients, or businesses should not be entered carelessly into an AI system. Respecting privacy is one way to love our neighbors.
Creativity also requires wisdom. AI can help someone experiment with a design, develop a rough outline, or overcome writer’s block. It can be a helpful starting point, but Christians should be honest about how much of a project was created by AI. Copying another person’s work, imitating a living artist without permission, or presenting machine-generated work as entirely personal creativity can ignore the value of human effort and originality.
Instead, AI should support creativity rather than erase the people behind it. Our goal should not simply be to produce something quickly, but to create something truthful, thoughtful, and beneficial.
Relationships may be the area where wise AI use matters most. As a pastor, this is where I have the most concern. AI can help someone think through how to apologize, communicate clearly, or understand a difficult topic. But it should not replace genuine conversation, prayer, friendship, or pastoral care.
Sending an AI-generated message during a serious conflict may sound polished, but it can also feel distant or insincere. Sharing private conversations with an AI tool without another person’s permission can violate trust. Christians should remember that people are not problems to be managed by technology. They are individuals made in God’s image, deserving patience, honesty, compassion, and personal attention.
These examples show that the question is not simply, “Can AI do this?” A better question is, “Should I use AI this way?” Christians can ask whether a particular use is truthful, loving, responsible, and respectful of human dignity. We can also ask whether AI is helping us become wiser and more faithful or merely helping us avoid effort, responsibility, and personal connection.
There is also a responsibility that comes with being created in God’s image. We should think carefully about how we use technology and how our choices affect other people. If AI can help us serve, learn, create, and solve problems, those uses can be valuable. But we should also be concerned about dishonesty, exploitation, privacy, and using technology in ways that harm others.
Perhaps the biggest lesson is that our value does not increase when technology is less capable than we are, and it does not decrease when technology becomes more capable than we are. Our worth was never based on being the smartest, most productive, or most talented people in the room. It comes from God.
As AI continues to change the world around us, Christians have an opportunity to remember something that technology cannot change: Every human being is made in the image of God and therefore has a value that cannot be measured by performance. No advancement in artificial intelligence can replace the genuine connection of one human spirit to another.
In Christ,
James