Open to grace in the opening up...

Opening up to grace.

We must open up to grace as we talk about reopening in this pandemic. In a pandemic, both stakes and emotions run high. We want to do the right thing but opinion differs on what exactly that is. We have different cost-benefit analysis of the situation, because we value different things differently.

Here are some of the things we value- to greater or lesser degrees.

1- Minimizing health risk for the vulnerable (those for whom contracting COVID-19 could be life-altering or life ending)

2- Minimizing risk and overload for first responders and hospitals

3- Minimizing economic repercussions of social distancing (for those who will find it difficult or will be unable to recover from downturn)

4-Minimizing mental/emotional/spiritual hardship (for those who feel this in the absence of face-to-face contact )

Not everyone is vulnerable or has a loved one who is vulnerable from a medical standpoint. Not everyone will feel the stress of overload that the first responders and front line medical staff will. Not everyone will be financially crushed. Not everyone has a job which will be significantly altered or lost. Not everyone will feel socially isolated or discouraged by social distancing.

So, if you do not think it reasonable that you or someone you love will die from contracting COVID-19, and if you are not immersed in the world of first response or front line medical care, you may not view COVID-19 social distancing the same way someone who is directly involved does. If your industry or your job are not jeopardized by social distancing, you may not view it the same way someone in a much more tenuous economic situation does. If your mental/emotional/spiritual needs can be met in your own home, you may not view social re-entry the same as someone who feels a need for face-to-face contact.

While we will not all agree on how much weight each of the above considerations (and others like them) should be given, we should be able to agree that there is more than one angle worth considering. Having enough hospital beds is a good thing, but it does not take away the pain that will be endured if the beds must be occupied. The economic hardship and ruin that social distancing brings, creates a pain of its own. (Who is to say which should be prioritized at what cost.) These are the weightier matters. There are other considerations, those with dental pains and elective medical procedures that have been put on hold, those who feel face-to-face contact is imperative for their mental/emotional/spiritual health, those who feel they have waited too long to have their hair re-dyed. All valid frustrations, though undoubtedly we will differ in opinion as to which are most urgent when we begin talking about re-entry from social distancing.

I would vote for the least amount of hardship, quantitatively and qualitatively. I would vote against unnecessary risk. If only it was clearer what that was. And while there is much we do not know about this virus, there is nothing about it that God does not know about it. Let us implore Him for His mercy, His grace, and His wisdom. For us and for the experts. Let us not claim to be the experts unless we are, and if we are not, let us be willing to listen to the experts rather than criticize them. Let us assume that they are doing the best they can (which is why we call them the experts). Let us consider how we might give less criticism and take more responsibility. Let us remember that we started social distancing to protect the weak and the vulnerable, who are still weak and vulnerable. Let us remember that God gives grace to the humble; and let us humbly ask for it.