Sept 13th, 2021: Love or Free Choice


When it comes to Covid-19, we are more divided than ever. I don't think it is helpful to use labels to describe one another as we go through this time. The division exists in various groups of people: the scientific community, the medical experts, the theologians, the business community, the political leaders, the ethicists, and more. We don't just contradict one another. We also deal with self-contradictions.


Some people are still not sure about the severity of Coronavirus. Some are very concerned. The most damaging threat to us is not Covid-19, but our spiritual disobedience of God's plan for us. That is the Christian belief.


I have met some people who argue with me about the notion of absolute morality and tell me that there is no such thing. Well, one of these people got mad at me a few years ago when all slapped his face (not hard but enough to make a point). He was not pleased and told him that I felt perfectly right about doing so. He should not be angry at me. We have suffered from the consequences of human sin, and yet we are still arguing about its meaning.


We now have more than one vaccine, and we discover that having options is not always beneficial. Some will get it, and some won't. Christians believe that we have also had the antidote for sin. John 3: 16 is the prescription of that antidote. We also know that God doesn't take away the freedom of choice even though he offers the most costly vaccine against sin.


What would happen if our government says that only a selected few will be vaccinated? It will run a lottery using one of the most sophisticated computer systems to determine 10% of the nation's population for vaccination. What would we do then? Some Christians also have a theological conviction similar to this approach.


God gives us the freedom to choose and the command to love one another as He loves us. How is loving one another going to play into the exercise of our free choice? Remember that God loves us by allowing Jesus to die on our behalf. Maybe we must consider both as we deal with this virus.


Galatians 5: 13


"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

 

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