Living For Christ During a Pandemic

I just tested negative for Covid-19 . . . for the fourth time. Every time I feel I am about to do something where I need to ensure I am Covid free, I get a test. The rest of the time, I stay at home, minimize my contacts to immediate family, wear a mask, use hand sanitizer, and spend many hours on Zoom.

Why?

1. I'm not one to tempt God. I have Christian friends who are attending church services indoors without masks. I ran into one yesterday who told me that God would protect her and that she refused to live in fear. I held my tongue. The truth is that, unless God specifically calls you to do something that would kill you or kill others, you shouldn’t. There is no honor in foolishness. Even Jesus avoided direct conflict with the Pharisees and other religious leaders at times. He didn’t do this because he was living in fear. He did it because it was not his time to die. When I was in college there was a girl who never studied for tests, declaring that she was free in Christ and that God would give her what she needed. She failed. When Satan told Jesus to jump off the cliff, he responded that we are not to tempt the Lord our God. I think this is what people are doing who use God for cover while living unsafe with this virus simply because they don’t want to be inconvenienced.                                                                                                                                                              
2. We are called to obey the governing officials. Romans 13:1-2 says, “"Obey the government, for God is the One who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow." Pretty clear, right? This is the position our pastor has taken. He has taught on it extensively. I think he is correct. I saw this morning that a very prominent pastor in California just died of the virus. Was he not also loved by God? Why wasn't he protected?                                                          
3. We are called to live for others and not for ourselves. My family needs me. My wife needs me. I’m not ready to die of Covid (which is a possibility for someone of my age and health issues). In my retirement, I have devoted myself to working with my grandkids, helping them not lose ground in school through this unusual time. My being with the kids allows my daughter (a teacher) to do her job while her husband (a firefighter) does his. Along with this, God is using me to work with the high schoolers at my church and to mentor a college student who has become a very dear friend. I have also been able to support and help my son and my mom and her husband through some situations. What I am trying to say is that I feel a responsibility to do what I can to stay healthy for the sake of those I am helping and serving. I owe it to them. Also, since people can infect others while being asymptomatic, the loving thing to do is to wear a mask for the sake of others. This seems to me a Christian thing to do.                                                                   

This is a very unusual time in our history. At this point, the virus is winning. It is fueled by those who have believed the misinformation that it is some kind of overblown hoax, or that masks don’t work, or that God will protect them. If we all worked together, being safe, even for a short time, we could stop the virus in its tracks.                                                                                
We have a vaccine coming. Life will become normal again some time in the near future. In the meantime, it is important that we all live life in a way that protects others. We can do this in the name of Christ--Not out of fear, but out of love.