Fear travel faster than the virus

The fear of COVID-19 that grips the globe right now is spreading faster than the Coronavirus itself.

Some (rightly) feel that much of the hype is induced by the self-interested media— nothing goes viral like the story of a virus. Others are (just as rightly and more correctly) adamant that the more we do in the early stages of any exponentially infectious condition, the greater the effect on curbing its spread.

Part of the angst is stoked by the unknown.
Do you recall when people thought that HIV could be contracted by sitting on toilet seats? But I think we all agree that until more is known, we ought to err on the side of more caution, not less. Imagine how many more people would have contracted mad cow disease if governments didn’t take precautions to temporarily curtail beef exports from the UK.

Here are four simple responses Christians should consider in a time of fear about disease…

Take reasonable precautions without being unbalanced.
This is fairly subjective. What feels reasonable to one person might seem positively unhinged to others. Elbow-bump or hazmat suit? It’s up to you.

Let’s agree on what we know for certain: there are many contagious diseases in the world today that can be deadly. Some are more infections than others and some have higher mortality rates than others. We should always be taking basic sanitary precautions, e.g. washing hands, covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze, and staying home while we might be contagious. Whenever you travel you should be taking immune boosters, anti-bacterial gel, lifting toilet seats with your foot, etc. This is basic short-term missions know-how.

Obey the government unless they tell you to sin.
When a disease receives the attention of the government enough to generate a public warning notice, it is probably because experts have advised our leaders. We should heed the guidelines wherever possible as a way of honouring the leaders God has placed over us (Rom 13:1-5).

What about if they ask us to not gather publicly for worship? My take is that if they merely “advise” it’s up to you and your church leaders to make a call based on what is happening in your city. However, if the government forbids public gatherings for a season in order to protect its citizens (including Christians), then we should submit to that, and figure out other ways to temporarily make do.

The command to gather is found in Hebrews 10:24-25, and contains an important caveat… “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Skipping church isn’t sin, if it’s not your habit. It is my habit to attend every time the doors are open, Sunday morning, evening, and Bible College. But if I’m ill, I stay home. And that’s not sinning. Now, if I can go to church and don’t, as is the habit of some… that is sinful, and reveals a lack of understanding about the essential nature of the corporate worship gathering in the life of a Christian.

Many churches have live stream or video capabilities. This is not ideal for any lengthy period,  or as an ongoing substitute for gathering “as is the habit of some.” But a temporary substitute in a time of disease isn’t a violation of the biblical injunction to “not neglect to meet together as is the habit of some” because we all agree that Paul is not saying you (or your snotty baby) should go to church when you are contagious.

I know this raises some hypothetical questions, like, “What if the ‘season’ turns out to last for several months?”

We should deal with what God brings our way each day as it comes (Matt 6:34). He promises to give us grace when we need it, and he promises that he will not allow us to be tested beyond what we are able to bear but always provides an escape (1 Cor 10:13). Let’s not concern ourselves with a scenario for which we haven’t yet received the grace or the way of escape.

Love your neighbour as yourself when you cough, sneeze, or travel.
Perhaps the guy next to you on a flight was wearing rubber gloves and a mask and disinfected your shared armrest at regular intervals. Normally, you’d think of him as a germaphobe, but you can kinda grateful that he was eliminating himself from the risk equation.

The Book of Leviticus makes it clear that if an Israelite had symptoms of a sickness that could spread to others, they had to love their neighbour by quarantining themselves. The same principle would apply today: if you love your neighbour, and you possibly have a disease that could harm them, and you are able to stay home from church… then stay home.

Rest in God’s goodness and sovereignty over disease, like David did.

In 1 Chronicle 21, after David sinfully commissions a census, God tells the prophet, Gad, to give David a choice of punishment. The options are three years of famine, three months of his enemies rising up violently against him, or three days of disease in Israel. This plague is described as “…three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.” (1 Chron 21:12).

David chooses this option. And here is his reason…

Vs 13  Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

David acknowledged that a disease that ravaged his nation (70,000 died) would be limited to three days and was constantly under the direct control of God, and David trusted in God’s character to do justly while being merciful and good.

JUST TO BE CLEAR: I am NOT saying, that we should view the Coronavirus as a judgment on God for our leaders’ sins. I am saying that, if pestilence in Israel was under the control of God in David’s day, then we know that the Coronavirus, Ebola, H1N1, SARS, mad cow, malaria, cancer, and any other dreaded disease is still under the control of God’s power today. And the effects of pandemics are governed by God’s sovereign permission and subject to his character of goodness and mercy and love for us.

Application? Let’s acknowledge that we are in the hand of the Lord, not the forces of nature or the whims of man. And let’s pray, as David did, that God would be merciful to us in this time of pestilence.