What Faith Isn't/An Appeal

 

Faith Can Be Abused



Like many things, faith can be abused. Many re-brand their ambitions as quote “Faith” while trying to define it on their own terms.

Faith isn't one day waking up and deciding that you’re going to walk across 8-lanes of busy traffic because quote "God won't let anything happen to you". This isn't faith, but testing God for one spiritual amusement. Faith isn't getting into that car and speeding down the avenue 90 to nothing and driving past every red light on each intersection thinking "God, if you love me, and you really do, then you will protect me regardless of my actions!".

Sure, their might be a chance that nothing might happen. Yet, their is also a strong possibility that you might get killed or get somebody else killed in the process. Even if nothing happens, the action was reckless and instead of showing faith, it shows complete contempt for the safety of you and others around you.

Faith is important. However faith is often abused by those who invoke it when they don’t like to be inconvenienced, and then pass their actions as such. These perceived inconveniences can extend to actions that are designed to save our lives. Yes, I'm talking about the mask again. In one of my messages a few months back, it was mentioned that if we want to love thy neighbor, then we must uphold their health in the highest of regard.

I can safety assume that for the vast majority here, one not donning that mask for that one particular moment is due to simple forgetfulness that is quickly rectified. We are human after all, and we do have occasional lapses of forgetfulness. Even I forget on a few occasions. This is something that can happen to all of us.

For some though, that life-protecting measure is seen as a forced inconvenience that’s unnecessary. Several will see not wearing the mask as making a grand statement while presenting their unwise deed as a demonstration of faith. One quickly forgets that the mask are here to protect our health and those of our loved ones. For many, ignorance is bliss. For those who haven’t worn there mask and haven’t gotten Covid, it’s only because God have loved them so much that he placed them around those who have respected their health by wearing their mask. God has blessed them despite their actions, not because of it.

Faith is not an excuse for one to play Russian Roulette with their health and that of others. Those who see their inaction as faith implies that those who do uphold their health and that of their loved ones are quote “lesser Christians who lack faith”.

Here in the U.S., 421,000 have died from the virus since it got here (and counting), including 35,200 here in Texas. In retrospect, their have been around 24,000 - 60,000 nationwide deaths from the flu. Even if you take the highest estimated number of flu deaths, Covid has killed 6-7 times more people than the flu on any given year. The death rate of the flu is around 5.3% (stat reported from WebMD) whereas Covid hovers around 18.5%, making Covid much more deadlier. Covid stays in the air for an average of 3 hours. Thus even when an infected person leaves the room, the virus is still in the air for a prolonged period of time.

This is the reason why mask and ventilation is important. One is much less likely to catch the virus when the area is well-ventilated. The virus is mainly transmitted in the air as droplets, hence the need to wear the mask. While children are less likely to die from the virus compared to adults, they still have been infected in large numbers, and several (172) have died from it.

The symptoms of Covid includes: Fever or chills, coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, recent loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. Their is no protection from the virus other than the vaccine and the mask. Their are no herbal remedies, magical foods, or snake-oil sold by that traveling medicine man that won’t cure you from the virus.

Education is the best medicine. Stay informed. Don’t buy into dodgy Internet bloggers looking for their 15 seconds on fame. The vaccine doesn’t has a microchip in it. Anyone spending even a few minutes of research would realize this. Many Christians will unfortunately die. But this is because they deceived themselves with false information in regard to the vaccine based on lies. We’re better than this.

The news is important as it provides the latest information about the effects of the virus around the country. As grim as it can be a lot of the time, it provides the information that allows us to make important decisions in regard to our health. If we become dismissive of what we hear simply because we don’t like, then we will end up getting ourselves and others sick because of our ignorance. Listen to the latest health guidelines. Listen to the CDC. This information can save your life.

High-risk areas where one can catch the virus from includes restaurants, hotels, gyms, bars, theme parks, and sporting events. Essentially any place where there is a crowd. The virus does not discriminate among religious lines. One of the reasons why social distancing is enforced here is because churches are another hot-spot where one can catch the virus. Megachurches that haven’t followed the social distancing guidelines have experienced much higher infection rates and fatalities as a result. I bet you’re feeling better now. However, we can have a safe service as long as we follow the rules, where the mask, and maintain social distancing. This requires the cooperation of all of us (not most, but all).

An Appeal

We’ve already lost too many loved because of this virus. We lost people who were completely devoted to God. They’re weren’t afraid of death, but they didn’t want to die either. They were full of faith, but they still caught the virus. Several tried everything in their power not to catch the virus, but to no avail. The virus does not discriminate. They still wanted to be their for their family and friends. Their was still plenty to live for. Regardless, their strong, unquestioned faith with Jesus has guided them to the very end. These are the people who are with God now. These are the people who God will forever bless.

When the appeal to wear the mask is made, it coming from a place of care and compassion. People don’t want their fellow congregation members to get sick and die from the virus. Can we live with the thought that we might inadvertently get somebody sick or even killed because of our actions? We don’t want innocent children or their parents to get sick from it either. This isn’t about control. This is about protection and displaying love, kindness and compassion to our loved ones and other by upholding health in the highest regards. This is how we quote “love thy neighbor” through this outbreak.

We owe it to everybody to get this vaccine. We owe it to our loved ones. We owe it to our neighbors. We owe it to our co-workers. We owe it to our doctors and nurses. We owe it to the scientist who poured their heart and soul to get this vaccine. We are indebted to everybody around us to get this vaccine. We are indebted to our family and friends and their health. While we have the choice, their is an obligation to get this vaccine. It will be up to those who get the vaccine to pick up the slack and protect the health of those who reject it. Can one live with the guilt that they might inadvertently kill themselves of their loved one because of their selfish action that was of their choosing.

When the virus calls out those who chose to believe the outlandish conspiracy theories and phony claims, they will have to live with the choices that they made.

Articles of Interest

Luke 8:43-48 (Bible Gateway) : https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%208%3A43-48&version=ESV

15 Bible Stories About Faith (Bible Motivation) : https://www.biblemotivation.com/blog/bible-stories-about-faith/

Top 10 Extreme Acts of Faith in the Bible: Part 2 (Revolution Now) : https://revolutingnow.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/top-10-extreme-acts-of-faith-in-the-bible-part-2/

Top 10 Examples of Faith in the Bible for Sunday School (Share Faith) : https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2016/08/top-10-examples-of-faith-in-the-bible-for-sunday-school/

Articles of Interest : Covid

COVID Far More Lethal Than Flu, Data Shows (WebMD) : https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20201218/covid-19-is-far-more-lethal-damaging-than-flu-data-shows#1

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary In-Season Burden Estimates (CDC) : https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm

Symptoms of Coronavirus (CDC) : https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

How long does coronavirus last in the body, air, and in food? (Medical News Today) : https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-long-does-coronavirus-last#in-the-body

COVID-19 cases in children surpass 2 million (American Academy of Pediatrics) : https://www.aappublications.org/news/2020/12/29/covid-2million-children-122920

35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID (Eat This) : https://www.eatthis.com/covid-19-high-risk-places/

Articles of Interest : Deception

Patheos : 3 Reasons Evangelical Christians Fall for Conspiracy Theories - https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jaysondbradley/2020/05/3-reasons-evangelical-christians-fall-for-conspiracy-theories/
Wikipedia - Rodney Howard-Browne : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Howard-Browne
Snopes - Is Kansas City Ordering Churchgoers To Register with the Government? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kansas-city-churches/
PolitiFact - No, Democrats aren’t pushing microchips to fight coronavirus : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/23/facebook-posts/no-democrats-arent-pushing-microchi...
PolitiFact - No, the Gates Foundation isn’t pushing microchips with all medical procedures : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/may/20/facebook-posts/no-gates-foundation-isnt-pushing-mi...
PolitiFact - No, the US isn’t developing a vaccine or ‘antivirus’ with a chip to track people : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/03/facebook-posts/no-us-isnt-developing-vaccine-or-an...

Pastor: I’m Holding Services Because I Have Machines That Shoot Down Viruses : https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/03/27/pastor-im-holding-services-because-i-have-machines-th... 

BBC : 'They want to throw God's wonderful breathing system out' - https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-53174415 

BBC : Man who believed virus was hoax loses wife to Covid-19 - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53892856

BBC : 'Hundreds dead' because of Covid-19 misinformation - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-53755067

BBC : Coronavirus: Pastor who decried 'hysteria' dies after attending Mardi Gras - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52157824

NYTimes : Pastor Who Defied Social Distancing Dies After Contracting Covid-19, Church Says - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/bishop-gerald-glenn-coronavirus.html

AP : Mormons chided for airport welcoming of missionaries - https://apnews.com/14fc5e1316fb7c74daeb7043f367c19f

Oklahoma News 4 : Louisiana church hosts more than 1,800 people amid COVID-19 outbreak - https://kfor.com/news/louisiana-church-hosts-more-than-1800-people-amid-covid-19-outbreak/

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