Thinking Out Loud
Thoughts on Covid by Elizabeth Evans
Sometimes it’s helpful to put ones opinion down on paper so as to put a fullstops to the thoughts that run riot inhibiting any hope of sleep.
One does not have to be an expert to have thoughts on the current explosion of ideas on the issue of Covid.
That is obvious, considering the proliferation of opinions invading us like megaphones in concert. I did not study science, nor biology, nor medicine, nor infection control in communities, but I am in my 80s so have lived experience to fuel my observations of how people act and react to community rules in society.
I also have a retrospective view of successes of disease control in society.
I also make a note that isolating disease has its origins in Scripture.
I do remember seeing little children encased in the callipers of the polio era, and I have been with adults in iron lungs.
I do remember the quarantining of TB patients for sometimes years at a time.
I have seen un-immunised toddlers die of measles and have heard the strangulating sounds of whooping cough.
We owe a lot to vaccines and researchers and a great difference has been observed in the mortality rate because of immunisation.
(yes, there is a slight negative response as well)
Many people worked hard to get us through some of that stuff.
There were also many scare campaigns in my memory. Among them the horrors that would follow the dispensing of the contraception pill!
Being a descendent of the early AOG faith stance I was not immunised against anything as a child.
That caught up with me in the pages of my missionary application.
The requirements were mandatory and I had “the lot!” as an adult.
Yes, I probably had a good immune system from my childhood as I coped with all the childhood diseases but I do know of some little ones who did not make it!
The chatter concerning our covid predicament gets louder by the minute.
The truism is that Covid is a deadly world wide pandemic and it its now our time to ” put our hands to the plough” to get us over this physical and economic disaster.
It is not a good idea to be so “precious” about these things – it will catch up with you in the end.
The devil was being smart when telling Jesus to throw himself down the mountain and God would protect Him.
Sure God would: Jesus’ answer is interesting, “Don’t temp the Lord Thy God.” If common sense can save one then a miracle of protection is not needed.
Viruses have a mind of their own, so do humans. Perhaps compliance will grant us freedom back to some sort of normal life.
The plan is – quarantine if you test positive or a close contact with the disease, get tested if you are sick, wear a mask , hand hygiene, and social distancing, get vacinated.
Just common sense really!
Wearing a mask has become an offence to many people.
I need to point out that many many people for many many years wear masks for their entire working lives to protect us and themselves.
This is at times agony for surgeons, during strenuous operations as they do their best to inhibit infections to operation sites.
Many people wear masks to protect others with lesser healthy immune systems, including premature babies.
The list of mask wearers is long taking in not only medical workers, in hospitals labourites, ambulances, but also food preparations and you can add to that list.
I’m hearing in the chatter that wearing masks is an insult to Christian freedom in Christ..
The scripture quoted is Galations 5:13. “Beloved ones, God has called us to live in freedom.”
The rest of this verse is pivotal to the covid situation.- “…….rather serve one another in love.”
Wearing a mask is not bondage, nor is it saying you have no faith in God to protect you.
It is saying to congregants with low immune system, I love you and I want to protect you.
As the virus is air borne, we don’t want to give it, or get it.
We are committed to serve one another and need to consider individual freedoms and the health of the whole community.
Covid debilitates and kills.
Wear a mask to show we “constantly love each other and are committed to serve one another.”
Let your mask say, ”I love you”.
If singing can spread the droplets, then don’t sing.
The new exercise of reading the words can add a fresh dimension to the song. Sometimes you will be surprised!
So what about the vaccine.
No it is not the “mark of the beast.” Wow, these things do show us however that the “end times” things will be a reality.
Scripture has prophesied concerning events in the future, and we would be foolish to think we can stop His prophecies being fulfilled by refusal of His for-warned events.
What we can do is what scripture tells us to do, “when we see these things come to pass, look up for your redemption draws nigh.”
No, it does not change ones DNA. I believe we are all stuck with our DNA .
It is not tested.
As I see it covid tests have been in the pipeline of testing for a long time because of previous Covid infections but for this one the experts did not have the luxury of time and so embarked on immunisation as an unavoidable immediacy. It is the best we have got.
My personal conclusion is that if churches refuse to comply to community requirements and something goes wrong then the church will be judged as being in the wrong, and consequences can be horrible.
If we as churches and citizens do all that is required for the good of community, and something goes wrong, then the powers that be are wrong, and they will be required to answer for it.
Take your choice!! “Choose your poison!”
Remember we have a religious freedom bill in the parliament and if the church and christians can’t fit in with community plans in the small things, do we think they will pass a bill for freedoms in the bigger things?
PS. I have had my Jab!