God or Humanity

“The most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of your own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs. There is not one of them which will not make us into devils if we set it up as an absolute guide. You might think the love of humanity, in general, was safe, but it is not. If you leave out justice you will find yourself breaking agreements and faking evidence in trials “for the sake of humanity,” and become in the end a cruel and treacherous man.” 

-C.S. Lewis

Humanitarianism was never in itself “bad.” In a world full of sin and destruction, a kind act,  from anyone, is highly sought after and deemed “good.” So why attack a humanitarian? Do they not work alongside the Christian missionaries to bring about world change?

The thing about godly traits is that they can be easily warped outside of Faith. Hence, what C.S. Lewis said above, that we can begin to do an evil act, sometimes without realizing it, all in the name of “humanity!” Be it seeking equality or justice, protecting minorities, or even in how we combat a global pandemic. The truth is, apart from God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we can start operating under this false sense of humanitarianism, believing that we are in the right and that we alone are governed by morality, while everyone else…well…is against humanity.

Fear for the preservation of life is an innate human quality. We were made to value our lives and to value the lives of others. However, again, if we remove God from the equation, that fear can become a monster, as I have seen demonstrated quite clearly in the last few weeks. Some examples?

Arresting people unjustly, neighbors and friends reporting others to the authorities for not maintaining quarantine orders (which vary state by state), fights erupting because someone “invaded” another’s social distancing space in line, masks being forced onto people and those without masks being labeled as “heartless and cruel,” businesses being attacked for trying to retain their livelihood, skate parks being filled in with sand, the right to freedom of speech and expression being attacked and deemed “nonessential”, churches being fined and pastors arrested, differing views being removed from social media….the list goes on and on…

Regardless of your stance on these matters, I think we can all agree that to a level, this has gotten out of hand. The “panic” is still at large and is turning many good well-meaning people into vipers. Many Christians have embraced humanity over faith, have forgotten what love looks like in the face of this worldwide fear. Weren’t we supposed to be the light? Whatever happened to “what would Jesus do?” Honestly, I feel like I’m surrounded by dictator-like humanitarians and very few Christians a.k.a “little Christs.”

And how can we stand to correct them? In their minds, what they are doing is right for the world and we are the ones who are labeled as selfish and unthinking for going against the tide. Just look at how the churches are being attacked, all it took was fear to change a nation, a world. Fear has turned a sanctuary into a breeding ground for disaster.

I admit that revivals are taking place and while many are turning away from their faith, many more are turning back to God. That this pandemic is opening eyes all around to the evil schemes of this world and is finally making people question the gov’t and authorities at work in their lives. All this is happening even while others do the opposite, giving away their freedoms so readily, believing in the news so easily when before they would have questioned what they heard and seen. I find it very unsettling how quickly we can turn back on our words and our very beliefs..actually, I think the heart of the problem is that we never really did “believe” and it took a pandemic to bring those unbeliefs to the surface.

So what is a healthy response to this?

To be honest, I’m still working that one out! How do I walk in faith, not fall for the lies and yet respect the fears of others? At what point do I fight for my freedoms and at what point do I relent? How much should I be protecting myself and others, and what is taking it too far and operating solely in fear? What do I believe and what do I question from statistics to doctors, to even the articles shared amidst friends? How should the church operate under these circumstances? At what point do we simply just do what we feel is right regardless of what others think of us?

These are just a few of the questions circling my head and up until this point I have tried to take a middle ground and have chosen faith above fear. I have respected the choices of others but haven’t relented to their fears myself. I have practiced good hygiene and have kept quarantined to my house except for church and occasionally the grocery store or doctor. I have kept clear away from the elderly and at-risk individuals in my family and have practiced social distancing in public whenever possible. I haven’t forced my presence upon anyone but have prayed for people’s protection and healing daily.

Despite this, many would label me as heartless and uncaring toward my fellow man. As if I must be fully adherent to every guideline set in place without question in order to be considered a thoughtful human being or member of society.

I’m not trying to sound offended, in fact, I am more disappointed than I am personally angry. It isn’t my job as a Christian to judge another’s convictions, nor to fight for the sake of my reputation, that battle is better left with God and is proven genuine by our actions. I’m disappointed that people aren’t thinking for themselves, I’m saddened that those I care very deeply about are living in constant fear and are suffering mentally from the toll of carrying it all alone.

I care about our country and our freedoms as well as caring about our health and the protection of those who need it most. I care about our economy and I care about the lives that have been lost, be it from covid or anything else, I promise you that death is not right and never will be. I care about those who are very alone right now, and how this whole quarantine might actually be doing more harm than good to them and their peace. I care about justice and equality, and I care about all those suffering from medical illnesses apart from covid that aren’t easily getting the treatment they need during this time. I care about my self and my unborn baby, as well as my own mental state which could affect my child as well. And I care about the truth, a truth that is more and more muddied and harder to distinguish, nevertheless there is freedom in truth and I long for the full truth to be made known to the world.

I refuse to submit to something I do not believe. I refuse to bow to something that doesn’t feel right in my Spirit, and I encourage every Christian reading to do the same. Your convictions may differ from mine, and that’s ok, so long as they come from a place of peace and not fear, you are bound to follow your convictions and I am bound to follow mine. At the end of the day, we must answer to God alone, and it is His Will and His Heart that should interest us, that should drive us forward on our walk. Condemnation is not from God, conviction, however, is. Do not be swayed by this world but remember that you are set apart from it for a reason.

Perhaps when this thing blows over we will all have a new perspective, a new appreciation for the things that God has blessed us with. Maybe we might even grow and mature in Christ and discover new ways to help others. Maybe we will realize that we could’ve done better, that maybe we cast aside our faith too quickly, or tried to do good apart from Christ for the sake of humanity. I don’t know…my hope is that at least, we all learned how to love a little deeper.