Is the Coronavirus Really that Serious?
“Don’t forget to wipe down your desk at work,” my mom said through the phone on my way to work.
I glanced at the package of disinfectant wipes she gave me a few days ago sitting in the passenger seat—a trusty confidant for the days ahead.
She didn’t detect my proverbial eye roll (it was in my head, of course), but she heard my audible chuckle. It was a very motherly thing to say, especially to her fully functioning adult daughter who was driving to work.
“Is it really that serious?” I asked.
She delved into the latest stats on the coronavirus—the speed at which it’s spreading, the number infected, its financial impacts. It seems like everyone is an expert these days.
THREE TYPES OF PEOPLE
I’ve observed a continuum of three types of people as it relates to the coronavirus:
Those who are stocking up on disinfectants and apocalyptic type materials,
Those who are looking at the rest of the world with puzzled annoyance and a tinge of self-righteousness, and
Those who are cautiously aware and particularly alert of anyone sneezing or coughing around them.
I’m not typically a doomsday person. I’d put myself somewhere between puzzled annoyance and cautiously aware. I’ve watched the toilet paper, water, and paper towels disappear from store shelves over the last few weeks with more of a proverbial—and sometimes literal—eye roll.
Some of this is a self-righteous annoyance at what I’ve perceived as an over-exaggeration of the coronavirus. I’ve likened it to the board game Pandemic my husband and I like to play. In the game, you’re trying to save the world from the outbreak of multiple diseases. But the threat is low, because after all, it’s just a game. There are no real deadly outbreaks, right?
But is death the only standard to determine if something is serious?
PRIVILEGED INDIFFERENCE
I’ve asked myself why I’ve gotten annoyed by the whole thing. Do I just really trust God in this area? Am I oblivious and unaware? Self-righteous?
I think the answer, in part, is that I can afford to be less concerned. I don’t have predetermined medical conditions. I’m not old. I have good healthcare in America in the twenty-first century. The odds are in my favor. My privilege allows me to be indifferent.
But that’s not the case for everyone.
Those of us who find ourselves somewhere between puzzled annoyance and cautious awareness should take others’ fears seriously and recognize that for some, the coronavirus is actually a threat. Whether or not someone dies from it, the possibility of getting seriously sick is real, and it’s scary.
The world almost always sees and feels the effects of the fall, even if we don’t call it that. Each day, in some capacity, we are all reminded there’s something terribly wrong with the way things are. And there are moments like these when we’re reminded of the ever-looming threat of the coronavirus with every package of hand sanitizer we see. Moments when fear, panic, and disease—all the fruit of Genesis 3—are inescapable.
What an opportunity we have as Christians!
SHARING HOPE AND PEACE AMIDST THE FEAR
We have the chance to speak hope into the fears of our friends, family, coworkers, and others during a time when global panic is a serious possibility. And in any situation, we always have the greatest hope we could ever give anyone—there is one who takes away the fear of death (Heb. 2:15) because he has defeated it.
Our advocate, Jesus, knows what it is like to live in an unpredictable, broken world. For the short time, he made Earth his physical dwelling place, he wept at the diseases he encountered, the spiritual lostness he observed, and the death around him.
He cared so deeply for the concerns and fears of others that he wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus (Jn. 11:35), and I imagine, to some degree, its effects on Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha.
And for us, he takes our pain—and the pain of those around us—so seriously he joins us in it. He is a great High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15). This is how we can find peace in the face of the Coronavirus. This is the hope we can give to his people, and it’s the invitation we extend to those outside the family of faith.
The coronavirus is serious. And even if it wasn’t, the fears of those around us are. Instead of eye rolls and annoyed sighs, perhaps God is calling us to share hope and peace into people’s very real fears.
SharDavia “Shar” Walker lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband and son. She serves as the Senior Writer for the North American Mission Board (NAMB). Shar is a writer and a speaker and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Christian Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. You can find more of her work at www.sharwalker.com.