There is confusion everywhere, among all the announcements of lockdowns and all the mandates and all the arguments of where Christians should stand on either side of the coronavirus debate. It doesn’t matter what label you put on it, the division is palpable even among the faithful.
What even should we as Christians stand for when everyone is shouting so many opinions into the void? Does arguing even change minds?
Some experts say lockdowns work, and some experts say the contrary. Some experts say masks work, and some experts say the contrary. Some experts say covid vaccines work, and some experts say the contrary.
At the end of the day nobody can force someone else to believe one way, and nobody can force someone else to research all the answers. The plethora of information confuses many ordinary individuals.
Love verses arrogance
Love is always going to be the answer. There is a bigger problem at work here. Isolation. Dissention. Neighbour verses neighbour. People turning against each other.
Should it matter if a friend or family member believes differently from you? They’re just working off of different information after all. Is that a reason to gossip about their choices in judgement (or go as far as believing they should be reported to the authorities!).
I’d like to believe that as Christians we’re beyond all forms of arrogance. Arrogance is saying that we have all the answers and seeming accusatory to others. By all means standing firm on the side of the fence you’re on is fine, but understanding reasons for those on the other side seems crucial.
Fight the good fight, not each other
Persecution should never some from each other. If you are standing up for your rights to not wear a mask, I will not be fearful that you’re trying to kill me. That’s an illogical jump. And if you’re faithfully wearing a mask, I will not jump to conclusions that you’re being a sheep. Your reasons are surely good for doing what you’re convinced is right.
And it should be the same for individual preferences with vaccines.
Some people might call it straddling the fence, but in my view it’s just basic human compassion.
Why are we getting angry at each other, fellow human beings and non-lawmakers? Mental health problems are at an all-time critical level amongst those facing hard lockdown right now. We have no idea what others in our church or even our family could be facing.
I choose unity
Accusations don’t heal people. Compassion and love is the only shot we’ve got at beating the divide together. Even when we’re divided from each other in real life, we must be united in Spirit about the things which really matter.
The gospel. Supporting each other. Living how Jesus lived. Shouldn’t other matters be secondary? Keeping our faith alive and not letting ourselves be consumed by the hateful narrative. That narrative that some people are inherently wrong while others are right. In the end who knows what side of history we’ll be on, but for now we should act with love.
Things are changing so fast and what advice medical professionals give now, can be contradicted with further research. All we know is that we should keep and open mind and consider what Jesus would do.
To those who do not think the same as me, I respect every right that you have. We live in society where people should be able to fight for what they believe in even if it goes against the belief of others. We live in a society where we should seek to understand before we demonise.
As the division gets worse, we need to stand against it because without unity we are not a functioning body. Love is the difference we need to set us apart through all the fog of information and misinformation out there.
Bridget Brenton from Brisbane has been for many years a young writer then an Over 31 writer and now a Panellist marking for the annual awards.