Unless you have been living under the proverbial rock or on some remote island in the middle of sea, you have been, in some way or another, impacted by the spread of the Coronavirus. The economy and social structure of the entire world has been impacted. In the annuals of history, the Coronavirus Pandemic will rate on the scale of such catastrophic events as the World Wars, the assassination of JFK, the Space Shuttle catastrophe, and 911! And, just as it was in the aftermath of those red-letter-calendar events, things will not return to the way they were before the event occurred!
But, there are some lessons we can learn from this recent world-wide event that will be beneficial to all, if we would just learn them and adapt. First of all, Corona reminds us that we are indeed a global community and that our commonalities really are more than our differences. It didn’t matter what ideology, religion, political persuasion, ethnic or racial identity; all were and are impacted by the virus! The lesson to be learned? Since all are equally impacted, then it seems to reason that all are equally human! Therefore, the Coronavirus is just another, of a long, unending list of proofs that the artificial barriers and claims of ethnic and racial superiority that some promote are just plain nonsense! All are equally susceptible, but the proof of our humanity or the lack thereof, will be shown in how all are treated in response!
Although, I use email, social media, and other means of technology to communicate, I am somewhat of a ‘dinosaur’ in some other things. The lesson that this crisis is teaching me is the importance of being flexible and willing to adapt new ways of doing old things! Because of restrictions put in place in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, the congregation I lead is temporarily unable to meet as we normally would on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, or on various other days for ministry activities. Consequently, I am being forced to experiment with making Facebook Live presentations and conducting virtual Bible Class and preaching to a camera instead of a live audience! Funny thing about it is that I am discovering that I am more nervous talking to a camera than I am addressing a live audience! Now, all of this is not necessarily a bad thing! The church has always been traditionally lagging behind in adapting new technology. But the adaption of new technology is needed in order to reach the current culture. I just pray that when this is over, people don’t prefer to remain socially distant!
And speaking of ‘social distance,’ the practice of maintaining social distance has forced us to re-establish the practice of family togetherness, which is really a good thing! Hopefully, being forced to remain in close proximity to the wife, the husband, the children, and the pets will force families to get reacquainted with one another and strengthen the family bond!
I realize we are in the midst of stressful times! We are having to do and endure some things that are unpleasant and undesirable, but as the Bible says in KJV English, “It shall come to pass!” I have talked with pastors and other church leaders who insist closing the church doors for this crises is giving in to fear and/or government control. But the bottom line is this: This is not a matter of faith, this is a matter of public safety and concern for one’s fellowman! Along that same line of reasoning, I just read of a beach in Florida, packed with people, in blatant disregard for the restrictive measures the CDC and the government are suggesting. Yes! People may have the freedom and the right to do something, but that doesn’t mean it’s right to do it!
We are all in this together! We should all do what we can to get through this with a minimum amount of sickness and death. So, if that means giving up some of my rights for the sake of the health and benefit of all, in my mind, that is the only loving and humane thing to do!
In the meantime, stay safe: Wash your hands, take care of yourself and your neighbor!