Faithful Observations: The Church in 2020
Scripture presents important principles for connection to each other. One of Solomon’s proverbs speaks a firm word. “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire, he breaks out against all sound judgment.” (Proverbs 18:1)
And the New Testament uses a classic analogy to refer to the church. “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ …” (I Corinthians 12:12, 14) Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part! We need each other.
The isolation of COVID-19 and its restrictions have caused significant mental health issues within our communities. People are depressed, panicked and stressed — and isolated. Someone asked his local grocer what had taken the place of the toilet paper shortage since the crisis has waned. “Alcohol” came the troubling reply. “We can’t keep alcohol on our shelves."
Isolation leads to consternation, which leads to self medications, a toxic combination. When you lose your job and can’t pay your bills, that can put anyone into a deep depression and destroy families.
We have not yet felt the full impact of lost jobs yet. Disney, Regal Cinema, airlines, retailers and of course small businesses are laying off hundreds of thousands and at the same time closing churches. There have been no summer camps, vacation Bible schools, Sunday School, Scouts, 4-H and athletics or even wedding celebrations and funeral gatherings.
Daniel Montgomery says in his book "How to be Present in an Absent World," ”Research shows that the most impactful leaders are in our neighborhood, or in our home. It’s not politicians or bestselling authors. It’s Mom, it’s Dad. It’s a coach. It’s a neighbor. It’s a youth pastor. Those are the people who change the trajectory of our lives.”
As a Christian, I believe churches unite people with God. But even in a secular sense, religious worship binds people together in community and gives them a vital sense of meaning and purpose that helps bolster them in trying times. A recent JAMA Psychiatry study found that “religious service attendance is associated with a lower risk of death from despair among registered nurses and health care professionals. These results may be important in understanding trends in deaths from despair in the general population.”
The question we all have to ask about the “pandemic” is this: Was the cure worse than the threat of the virus? Proverbs 18:15 says, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.”
What knowledge do we have after six months of history with the virus and restrictions? Over 200,000 dead related to the virus, however the CDC admitted that only 6% of those who died were directly caused by COVID and the rest were “COVID related.”
The median age of death was 78 and nearly half were in nursing homes. For those over 70 who contract the disease, 94% will not have complications and for those under the age of 60, 98% will have no complications. People under the age of 24, 99.9% will not have complications. About 2% of the Kootenai County population have had the virus and even smaller percentage died as COVID related. All of this is not much different than the rest of the country.
None of this is to minimize the virus and the health effects. The purpose of this column is that we approach this threat without fear and panic.
We follow the advice of Proverbs 4:5, “Get wisdom, get understanding, do not forget my words or turn away from them.” The more we understand about the virus along with understanding how the fabric of our society can be ripped apart by isolating from our foundations. We are told to follow the science but that needs to include the science that applies to the well-being of a society.
Jane and I are in that vulnerable age group over the age of 70 but in good health. This year we have flown to Arizona, Wisconsin for a grandson's wedding reception and recently we went to Ohio to visit another daughter and family. We are attending church through all of this. Family and life is too precious to stay locked up, however, we can protect ourselves by being wise.
We don’t expect businesses to be closed because of our vulnerability. This is not our first pandemic; we lived through the polio outbreak that affected hundreds of thousands of children, the Hong Kong Flu and SARS. We also know this world is not our home.
Continue to pray for our leaders and our country but seek the truth and don’t neglect your family, worship and the Word of the Lord. We are called to have eyes wide open, to see the facts, meet them with wisdom, seek God’s guidance and follow His word.
The Bible is not a medical textbook, but I believe it speaks more on the state of our souls than anything ever could. There is a significant difference between panic and appropriate response. Panic likes to avoid reason and instead succumbs to truths that our security is our ultimate goal.
”God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.” Psalm 46:1-2
• • •
Bob Shillingstad’s columns appear Saturdays in The Press. Email Bob: bjshill@mac.com
