A Spirit Of Fear?

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1 v 7

 

Isn’t that one of the first Bible verses you ever learned? Right after John 3:16 for most of us. So why ae Christians so afraid during this covid emergency?

I confess that yesterday was the saddest day emotionally that I have had during the last months, every attack on freedom, every bit of news on economic depression and every hairdresser or manicurist Greg Abbot’s order jailed in Texas did not depress me it made me angry, not in a flying off the handle way but in a Godly hatred of injustice kind of way and it motivated me to continue to fight and use my tiny platform to push back. I wrote my opinion on what the church should be doing all the way back in early April in a letter to the president and expanded on those ideas on April 20 in a blog, (http://advicenotaskedfor.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-day-church-was-deemed-nonessential.html)

So why when our church finally opened its doors was I so depressed? Well the conditions under which our Dread Sovereign Jim Justice permitted us to open:  cover your face and stand 6 ft. apart like OT lepers, (minus the shouting of unclean, but let’s not give Charleston any ideas), no contact with anyone outside of your family unit, no lingering in the lobby, no fellowship, no comforting each other, no praying together, no children playing, just gathering in the same building but still consumed by fear.

It was suggested to me that  his majesty the governors guidelines were voluntary but this is the governor who told businesses that were finally permitted to operate that if they wished to stay open they better “follow the f… guidelines” . These guidelines are voluntary unless you don’t follow them to the letter then they are mandatory, that is how authoritarians always operate.

More disturbing to me was something a friends pastor said that this wasn’t about freedom, but safety and spiritual leaders have to find a balance between keeping people safe and having faith. Therein lies the rub, balancing faith with something else is not what I was taught as the key to the Christian life.

for whatever is not from faith is sin.  Romans 14:23b this is the standard that we as Christians are to follow. We cannot walk with the Lord in victory so long as faith is “balanced” with something else.

 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.  1John 4:18. I suspect that the church is basing its decisions on fear not faith, what are we afraid of?

Catching a virus? God created all life during the 7 days of creation, when sin entered into the world the harmful effects of the virus was initialized. This means that the virus predates the church by 4,000 years or so. Viruses have never shut down the church before; in fact in times like this the Church has been at the forefront of care and benevolence. The church has always ignored danger and been courageous in its face. What is different now? Is this virus so much worse than any disease ever so that we now must hide under our beds clutching rolls of toilet paper?  No it isn’t, in fact aside from certain vulnerable groups this virus is less dangerous then the flu. The difference is we now lack courage.

Fear of punishment? This is a big one. Most Governors are in full-fledged tyrant mode right now seeking to punish anyone who dares defy their royal decrees. These decrees are unconstitutional and illegal, and by not challenging them we add to their legitimacy. Is this how Christians should behave? And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. ³⁰But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Matt 10:28-31. God hates injustice and for the Christian standing up to it is a matter of faith, and obedience. What would the consequences be? Shelley Luther defied the orders to close her salon and spent some time in jail, she changed Texas for the better caused the prosecution of other Texans to be suspended and the outpouring of support she received means her business will not fail and her employees will not starve.  This is the stand the church should have taken.

Fear that someone will get sick and we’ll get blamed? Probably the biggest and it is certainly possible. Guess what, people are still getting sick. In fact almost 70% of the newly hospitalized patients in NY have been in lockdown stay at home quarantine. This is the tactic of the enemy call evil good and good evil. Accuse those who want to open the economy so that the nation will not be plunged into economic depression of being selfish. Accuse churches who want to do the Lord’s work of being foolish and working against the public health and safety. Health and safety being the enigmatic greater good the communists always claim to serve. Is God a part of our lives, do we trust Him for the practical as well as the spiritual? 11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. They will continue to revile us until the Lord returns so what is the advantage of fearing it?

It is impossible to live by faith and fear. It is impossible to make good decisions as a society based on fear, yet America has based its entire response to the Corona virus on models that were based on nothing but fear, and as data comes out contradicting the models we do not change our response. Power and love and a sound mind would guide us far better than the prevailing spirit of fear in our country, and our Churches.

The answer is not so complex. We are God’s people and we will be here on Sunday. Anyone who wants to stop us can arrest us lock our doors but we will be meeting somewhere. Anyone who is vulnerable and chooses not to come out is loved and supported and prayed for, never judged but God’s people will be here. We have masks if you want one, hand sanitizer if you wish, and gloves aplenty for all who ask but God’s people will be here. The work of the Kingdom goes on. Or at least it should.