March 7th, 2021: Govern with Integrity?
There are many conversations about vaccination these days as countries have begun to roll out their vaccination plans. Canada is not on the top of the list, and for some people that is dismal, others are quietly cheering, and the rest is indifferent. Indeed, it is still a personal choice whether one wants to be vaccinated or not. However, when we think about people might need a vaccination certificate to travel, that raises the question about personal free choice in this matter.
It is an ethical dilemma. It revolves around the question of personal free choice and the greater public good. I guess the issue really has a lot to do with the feeling that some people don't believe that the government cares about its people. When that happens, the trust between a government and its people is eroded. It is almost impossible for people to believe that our government governs with any moral authority.
How does that happen? Have we ever considered that when leaders decide to rule out God in the conversations of its affairs, they run into very tricky water? There is always something hollow about their policies and their commitments to the well-being of the people. We cannot ignore the core brokenness of humanity while trying to provide some comfort and understanding. Our political leaders might think that they are smart enough to talk around us. The real problem is that they are setting up their own trap in losing the real power, the power to rule with the fear of God and integrity.
So our governments will eventually mandate a vaccination policy for everyone. Some might say it is acceptable for them to do that in dealing with Coronavirus. We have to be cautiously aware that it is a slippery slope because they don't adhere to any higher moral authority in the way they govern. What we have seen in the US and in Canada in recent years seems to confirm that fear.
Isaiah 5: 20
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"