Despite the truth that from time to time, whether on my blog or on either of my podcasts, Ask RC or Jesus Changes Everything I dip my toes into political issues, I do not, as a general rule follow politics carefully. My political convictions put me well outside the mainstream and my hope is that that they are grounded in eternal verities which makes temporal vicissitudes of less significance. So I noticed when I agreed with my precious wife’s request that we tune our TV to the President’s press conference in March. Strange days indeed.
As the President introduced me to COVID I watched my indifference dissolve into the ether. This wasn’t Nixon announcing his resignation. This wasn’t Jimmy Carter coming on television to tell us to keep our thermostats down. This was the President telling us that travel overseas would come to an end, that sheltering in place was on its way. I praised the President for being presidential. I was confident that we would weather the storm. Remember 15 days to flatten the curve?
My classes switched to online, removing the one part of my work week where I left the home. I like home. My wife makes a beautiful home and is beautiful herself. The whole thing was just a minor inconvenience. We watched the President more regularly over the following days, but got out of that habit. Then came the riots. They weren’t covered by CNN or Fox news. They were covered by WANE and every other local station here in Fort Wayne. We were watching our own riots in our own city.
Remember Summer? Remember how we felt like we were coming out of the valley? But then came the second wave, and riding the crest, election season. And that, of course, ended smoothly. Now it’s masks, vaccines, and 5G oh my.
My strategy? Act in light of what I know. I don’t know if masks help, how dangerous COVID is, how safe the vaccine might be or if 5G will cause my blood to boil. I really don’t. I’m not at all suggesting that those with concerns about these things are wrong. I just know that I don’t know. And that God calls me to act on what I do know. I do know that I need to pursue becoming more like Jesus. I do know that I need to love my family. I do know I need to serve the body of Christ. I do know that how I do with those things, not how I respond to things above my pay grade is what matters, and is what will change the world.
It is true that a prudent man sees danger and takes refuge (Proverbs 27:12). The danger I see, however, is more in my own failures, less in whatever sludge comes down the pipeline from Washington DC. When I die, and look back at 2020, it will be every idle word of mine that I’ll see, every moment of faithlessness, every failure to reflect my Lord, every selfish thought. How did I manage 2020? The same way I managed 2019 and every year before, by knowing that every one of my failures is covered by the blood of Christ.