What is the loving thing to do? How do we approach reopening our nation with Covid-19 abating, but still lingering?
I’ve heard many God-loving, well-intentioned people say we need to have grace and love our neighbor well. We need to continue to protect the most vulnerable and be sensitive to their needs.
Can I just say that I absolutely agree? Yes, we still need to protect the most vulnerable. That shouldn’t EVER change, right? Pandemic or no pandemic. But here’s where I’m losing my mind. Are other people seeing the same things I am? The last couple of days I’ve thought to myself on more than one occasion, am I the only one here that is questioning the common narrative? Because if so, LORD help us. And it’s not as if one media station is the gold standard, because that unfortunately isn’t the case. But gleaning from various, reliable sources is something we should all be doing. Utilizing common sense and carefully looking into not only the data but how the data is interpreted is incredibly important.
So here I go. I think all news sources recognize we have FLATTENED the curve. We were told at the beginning of all of this that once we flatten the curve, we can open things back up. We just don’t want to overwhelm the hospitals, right? We were told that approximately the SAME number of people will probably end up getting this because it’s so incredibly contagious, but if we social distance, we can slow this thing down and spread out the need for people to go into the hospitals. But for some crazy reason, our country remains largely closed. Why? I’ve heard many are afraid that a second wave will hit. Has anyone checked out Georgia, who opened up even though Trump himself was calling Governor Kemp reckless? No spike. Florida as well has opened and has seen no spike.
There is ample evidence of effective treatments for Covid. Dr. Ivette Lozano spoke out at a Texas rally, telling others that she has had great results with hydroxychloroquine & azithromycin, and that the vast majority of her patients recover. There have been studies in other parts of the world, including France, that have shown how effective those drugs are. Other well-respected doctors, including globally recognized Dr. Dolores Cahill, an expert in immunology, has said we have what we need to fight this virus, and we should open up immediately.
My point? There is not just one narrative. And it seems to me, this is not about the health of people anymore. I believe we need to love our neighbors, and that includes all of them. Those of us that are immunocompromised as well as those of us who need to have interactions with others (i.e. where various therapies are needed) and therefore need to have person to person interactions. And obviously there are also those of us that simply need to be around other people, period!
As Believers, we are not to fear man, viruses, or any of the things of this world, but we are to fear the LORD. Many of us are afraid to meet even for church across this nation, when we have a clear mandate in Scripture to not forsake the meeting together as the day draws near (Heb 10:25). Zoom calls and video streaming will never replace the face to face communication that we have been called to have. Can it be a tool? Of course. But we’ve been encouraged to open up churches because they have been deemed essential by the President. Was that a political move? I think we’d have to be blind to think otherwise, but you know what? So what. Who cares! The point is that the church has been recognized as essential (which it always has been and always will be!) and can welcome people to physically gather. I agree with many of those that believe the church has NEVER been fully closed, but I can tell you something else. I’ve never felt so isolated during this time. And although we can continue to praise God via online sermons and meeting in Google Meets, it is just not the same. I heard someone compare it to parenting. You can’t really parent over Zoom, so why, if given another option, would we continue to shepherd the flock in that way, especially considering the scientific data and expert opinions I have referred to above? I understand the fear and the apprehension. We need to be responsible. But I love how Ken Ham put it on a recent post:
Yes, our spiritual health is vital! A virus is ultimately not the cause of anyone’s death, as sin is the cause. And that’s why we need salvation: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9).
Ken Ham, FB post from 5/24/20
For those who don’t feel comfortable to meet in person, they can stay home and watch the online message. Their decisions should be honored and never looked down on. But for those who can and want to meet together, they should be encouraged to do so as safely and as soon as possible. There is no reason why it can’t be now, even if it’s modified from what we’re used to. The church needs to have the fellowship.
Side note: just to be clear, I hate conflict. I hate even speaking on this topic. But we as a nation are afraid of going out of our homes because we’ve been told we are going to die, but in reality, over 99% of us will be fine. Why is that message not strewn across every media outlet? And besides that, why are we cowering in fear over something we can’t control and never will be able to control? There have been and always will be disease. And death. But I thought we had a God that was in control of it all, don’t we? Obviously, we shouldn’t be reckless and we need to be good stewards of what we’ve been given, but we also need to be reasonable. We were not given a spirit of fear. To indefinitely continue to stay in our homes and not meet together for fear of this virus? What in the world are we doing?? I pray that as we move forward our eyes are opened to truth. And as we love ALL of our neighbors, we love the LORD and His commandments above all else.
I hope our country is able to completely open again soon, with reasonable steps in place to protect one another the best we can. Life must move on.
