Mar 25, 2020
By Pastor Phil Lawton
At the time of writing this article, all anyone sees in the news is COVID-19. There is a lot of fear and confusion around the virus and it can become easy for Christians to get caught up in the chaos. We can underreact and pretend this is going to be gone tomorrow. We can overreact, sell all our 401k stock, and buy a year’s supply of toilet paper. Neither of these options is helpful or really even Biblical.
I have seen many well-tempered and well-informed responses to this crisis from Christians. So many in fact, I thought that perhaps my writing about this was redundant. But this is a series about engaging life with proper theology and so I decided to give my take on the issue. As always there will be a livestream to discuss. The live-stream for this article will be Wednesday, April 15, at 8 pm EST.
If there is only one thing that you take away from this article let it be this: The proper Christian response to any crisis is to bring the peace, love, and hope of our God and creator. I will deal with the specifics of COVID-19, but this is really an article about the response that Christians should have for any crisis—whether it be a flood, a fire, or a pandemic.
Stay Informed (From People Who Actually Know)
The first thing for any crisis is to stay informed. This can be hard because a lot of us get our information from secondary sources. It’s a sad fact of our culture today that we don’t regularly check information. We just believe people we trust. Here is a secret for you: the people you trust can be wrong. I know your Aunt Debbie works as a medical supply representative, but that doesn’t mean she knows how coronaviruses work.
The best source for information in the case of a crisis is the government. A lot of times they will disseminate that information through the news and that can be helpful. But as we have seen with COVID-19, the news can get caught up in the hysteria as well. That is why it is always good to go directly to the source. For our current crisis I suggest going to the CDC’s website about COVID-19. That will have the most up-to-date information as well as measures you and your church can take. It is also good to check with local government about procedures specific to where you live.
Follow Advice Given
I really shouldn’t have to say this, but every time there is a hurricane in New Jersey I hear about people who do not evacuate. FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF OFFICIALS! If you are told to evacuate, then evacuate. If you are told to stay home, then stay home. If you are told to wash your hands, then wash your hands.
As Christians we are told by both Peter (1 Peter 2:13-17) and Paul (Romans 13:1-7) to respect the authorities of our country. Often this gets pulled out after elections to encourage us to pray for the new President. But this goes so much further. Paul makes it clear that God places authorities over us for our own good. (Romans 13:4) So in the case of a crisis, this means that listening to authorities is not only the best thing to do, it is the Christian thing to do.
For churches in our current crisis this may mean that you have to suspend local gatherings. Many of the churches here in America have the ability to livestream services, so that means we can still worship together remotely. If your government tells you not to have gatherings, then don’t have church services.
Respond in Love
Up to this point, I have really just shared what everyone should do regardless of religion, but I think Christians have an even more important calling. I see a lot of people on social media talking about how you don’t need to worry because COVID-19 isn’t that deadly if you’re not elderly and you are healthy. These may be true things, but it can come across like we don’t care about people with cancer or about grandma.
Here is the truth. Some people are going to die. Let that sink in. People will die. Not people will get sick. Not people might die. People will die. The most important question for churches right now is not what events do we cancel, it’s how do we care for our community through the upcoming tragedy.
As a chaplain, I spend a lot of time listening to families of the terminally ill. I spend a lot of time with grieving people. I spend a lot of time in rooms where someone just died. It can be easy in that situation to talk about why things happened. We can talk about everything happening for a reason, or we can talk about how people just die—but that is not what these people need. What grieving people need is a God who cares.
One of the staff chaplains at my hospital works with parents in the neonatal ICU. That is perhaps the toughest floor of the hospital. What do you say to parents who just lost a baby? Anyway, this staff chaplain said something in a lecture that I will never forget. She said that she often tells these parents, “I may not have
answers, but I can help you deal with the questions.” My job as a chaplain is not to give answers. I can’t do that. God didn’t even do that for Job (Job 38:1-3). My job as a chaplain is to bring the presence of God.
The churches’ response to crisis needs to be the same as my job as a chaplain. We should be bringing the presence of God to our communities. This doesn’t mean telling people how they need Jesus. In a tragedy everyone needs Jesus. This means showing people Jesus. It means showing Him in our love and concern for them, regardless of their faith in God.
Pray
This is the most important response to crisis. There are going to be many times in your life when you are
directly affected by a tragedy. With the current COVID-19 crisis, all of us will be affected in some way. Prayer is a powerful thing, whether it be for ourselves or for others.
As a chaplain, my main prayer when I go into a room is that God’s presence would be known. I can’t really do much to help people who are grieving the loss of a family member. What I can do is point people to the One who understands our every grief. Every time I am asked to pray, I pray for peace. I pray for peace because it is God’s weapon against chaos, anxiety, and fear.
I believe that God heals. I believe that God does miraculous healings. I believe that I should pray for miraculous healings. I know that not every prayer for miraculous healing works the way we expect. But I also know that every time I have prayed for God to bring peace it has happened.
For our current crisis, pray that God will bring healing. Pray that doctors find a vaccine quickly. Pray for God to protect medical staff. Pray that people know the peace and love of God. Pray that God’s name is glorified in the miraculous healings.
I can think of no better way to end an article about crisis than with Philippians 4:6-9:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.