July 17, 2020


Wear the Mask

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. – Philippians 2:3

Before the mask controversy, the “thing” to promote was kindness. Be kind to one another. We don’t know what others are going through. Give encouragement. Smile.

How quickly we forget.

Refusing to wear a mask is a straight way of saying you don’t care about anyone but yourself. Period.

Right now many are reading these words with stiffened backs and scowls on their faces. They’re busy defending themselves and proclaiming the name of Jesus to do it. God is love. That’s what John says. So how can you love someone and not care about whether they contract an awful virus that could kill them or leave them with permanent health issues?

I don’t want to hear about the flu. It’s not the same thing. Yes. The flu can kill. I once had a young, healthy co-worker die from the flu. She was in one of the best hospitals in the nation and they couldn’t save her. So, yes, I know the flu can kill.

But we don’t see the numbers of hospitalizations with the flu. We don’t see patients struggling for weeks on ventilators. We don’t witness this kind of devastation.

Scientists and doctors don’t agree on everything but they do agree almost totally that masks will help stop the spread of this virus. It keeps asymptomatic people from spreading it to others. You can have Covid 19 and not know it. You can spread it to everyone you come into contact with and not know it. That’s why you wear a mask. Yes. Wearing a mask helps keep you safe. But the main reason you wear a mask is to protect others. And, frankly, most people just don’t care about others.

So, don’t tell me you love Jesus and then demand your “right” to not wear a mask. You have to decide who you will serve: yourself or the God who loves us all and tells us to put others before ourselves.

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