We are at a unique time for our country right now. The Coronavirus pandemic has swept away the attention of everyone in the country. There have been numerous things cancelled and postponed everywhere in the United States. None of this comes without debate. Some say it is necessary and some say it is a complete overreaction. It has caused even more division in our country than already existed. That is the unfortunate part of this pandemic. If you go online and look at any media outlet for very long, there are all kinds of ideas out there. I’ll let you look at those if you wish. That is not the point of this blog post. But, there are numerous ideas on this issue that cover a range of viewpoints.
There are a lot of cancellations everywhere. Sports have basically came to a stop. There are not really any sports that are competing right now from the college level to the professionals. That has a lot of people completely lost on what to do right now. Sports are entertainment and consume a lot of our time for a lot of people. There are school cancellations, church cancellations, concert cancellations, and so much more. Of course with this, there is an immense amount of criticism. Some think it’s overreaction while some think it is a good thing to be cautious. That is what has caused as much debate as anything.
I don’t know what is the right thing to do and what is overkill. But here’s what I do know. I’m not a medical professional. I don’t work for the CDC and follow this by the hour. I don’t see things from their perspective, so I don’t feel that I have any place to tell anyone else what is right or wrong when it comes to this. Now, I kinda fell into that trap at the beginning. I felt like my opinions were right, just like everyone else. Then I realized I really had no clue. I’m a principal and a baseball coach. What do I know about the medical field and what is the right thing to do in this situation? I can try to educate myself the best I can and do what I feel is right for my family. But I really just have to listen to those I trust when it comes to this matter. Sometimes we tend to want to tell others our opinions, when we really weren’t asked. We think those opinions are obviously right, because they are our own. We want to tell someone else how to do their job and be very vocal if we feel they aren’t doing it the way we think they should be. But the bottom line is we would be very upset if someone showed up at our workplace or got on Facebook and tried to tell us how to do our job. We wouldn’t like it if someone came and told us we were doing our job wrong when they were involved in a completely different profession themselves and didn’t do this job on a daily basis and see the big picture like we did. That’s just the way we work. What my job is in all of this is to follow the guidance of those that are in that line of work. A school superintendent in Colorado named Darrin Peppard made a statement about closings and cancellations and the handling of this virus that I feel says it really well. He said, “In the end, it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be QUITE apparent if we under reacted or did too little.” This is obviously geographical as well. Some areas are hit harder by this virus than others too. So some areas will have a higher rate of cancellations than others. So that plays a factor in those decisions made by the proper officials.
There are so many ways to look at all of this. But, if there is one thing that we can all UNITE together and do for the common good of everyone involved, that is look to God and pray during all of this. Psalms 46:1 says, “God is our refuge, and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.” We are experiencing something that is unprecedented in our country. I have never seen this kind of thing happen in my lifetime. I have never had a March with no March Madness. I haven’t ever seen MLB and the NBA stop their seasons for something like this. I have seen work stoppages, but not for this. But in the end, these things are what entertain us. They are fun to watch. It’s fun to fill out brackets for March Madness with our family or buddies and see who can have the best bracket. It’s fun this time of year when the NBA playoffs are getting ready to begin and Major League Baseball is about to begin. But, are these things really as important as we treat them on a daily basis? I would venture to say no, if we were completely honest with ourselves.
As Christians, if we all took a minute to slow down and look at all of this from the proper perspective, we would all agree that we should look to God for guidance and wisdom. We can use this time to be an influence for others. I’m sure discussions about this virus have came up with everyone at some point over the last week or two. Use this time to point others to the only answer that will get us through anything like this, God. John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
God wants us to go to him in tough times. We need to pray about this pandemic facing our country. We need to pray for God to lead us through this like only He can. Our country is no doubt facing a tough time. There are so many things, including satan, that are trying to tear this country and it’s people apart. We can make a difference. We need to always live our lives led by FAITH and not fear. We can spread the love of God around and help spread peace during times like this. We can trust God and help others realize that everything will be alright because God is in charge. My challenge to you this week is when you are involved in a conversation about this with others, turn them to God. It is easy to get into complaining or throwing opinions around about how it has been handled or how we think it should be handled. We really just need to trust in God to handle it and put our complete faith in Him. We need to pray to God daily about it and trust that His will be done in this and everything in our lives. If we can do that, we can have complete peace that everything will be just fine!!!