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Preventive Measures
In a previous “Thought for the Day,” we contrasted the extreme preventive measures that have been taken against the coronavirus with the wholesale denial of sin. We are pretty good at fighting against physical disease but sorely lacking in our recognition and evaluation of spiritual disease.
This highlights the fact that not only do we need spiritual insight to acknowledge the existence of God, we also need it to accept the existence of sin. Just because sin involves the mind and its interaction with an unseen Creator doesn’t mean it isn’t real. The believer accepts the reality of a spiritual realm in addition to the material environment we presently inhabit. Without this insight, man seeks to explain every human malady in physical terms only. Consequently, we then resort to bankrupt philosophies, inadequate remedies or outright denial to mitigate what is essentially a spiritual problem.
On the broader level, this will never change. The history of the world is a pretty good indicator of man’s unwillingness to come to terms with God en masse. Jesus’ own blunt assessment: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).
But the question for Christians is: Am I as diligent as I should be in preventing sin in my life? Are we as educated on the dangers of sin as we now are on the deadliness of the coronavirus? Or do we have the heedless, cavalier attitude of some who insist on having coronavirus parties, spring breaks at the beach and a business-as-usual attitude toward life?
We have heard about how the coronavirus first invades the body without any immediate side-effects and can reside in a body for weeks without manifesting its presence. Because of this, our society has taken extreme steps to break the chain of exposure and ensure that the virus cannot physically contact a healthy body. Sin is very similar in its effects.
Yet we are tempted to engage in lesser exposure to sin by persuading ourselves that it will not become fully manifest in us. I’ll spare you a list, but I will encourage all of us to think about this question: Have I become so nonchalant toward sin that I do not see it for the powerful and deadly force that it is? And if you answer “yes,” a second question is: What would have to change in your life to build stronger defenses against exposure to sin? If the answer to that question causes you anxiety, you might want to examine this issue more carefully.
If we were fractionally as diligent about keeping sin out of our lives as we now are about avoiding coronavirus, we would all be healthier.
