The inherent value of mankind, of human life in its very basic form, is a long-debated topic. This related not only to the question of good and evil, or the concept of indwelling sin in our lives, but also into the inherent value of life at the point of conception. In our reading of scripture, we learn that God has placed great value on humanity--He created us after all. Humans were created in God's image. We were designed to be perfectly sinless, but that has been tainted by the original sin. God still saw the value in mankind all throughout. We see this in the example of the ark. God could have just destroyed creation entirely, but He chose to save mankind through Noah. We see it again in the example of God sending His Son to be the atonement payment for the world. He still saw intrinsic value in mankind, and felt they were worth saving. Beyond all that, He knew all this before He even began creation. He knew that we would sin against Him. He knew that there would be evil in the world for the rest of earthly time. He knew that His Son would have to be sent as the sacrifical Lamb to pay for the sins of the world...and yet He still chose to go through with it all, because He saw the intrinsic value that was within mankind--that which He had put there in the first place.
If God acts in such a way to see such great intrinsic value in the world, that He is willing to send His own Son to die as sacrifice, how can we see anything but intrinsic value in every human being that crosses our path> We are called to be like Jesus, like God--let's start acting like it!