In 1948, theologian C.S. Lewis wrote an essay that responded to the fear and hysteria surrounding the threat of nuclear war. Part of that article is circulating on the internet, and I would like to include the below section for our consideration this week.
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.— “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948) in Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays
Fear has the ability to dominate our thinking and therefore our lives. We see that at the current time, and I wonder why? Why do people let another virus in the world dominate their thinking and make them run for cover and buy all the toilet paper they can? Is that threat worse than the threat of dying on a highway somewhere in America today (109 people will die on American highways today)? My point is simply we cannot let irrational fears rule our lives. Let us all embrace the peace that God offers today and for eternity.
Our text today is a popular one from Paul to the Philippians. In Philippians 4:6,7, Paul tells us to stop worrying and pray to God about everything. He then says we will experience “God’s peace” (NLT) that’s greater than anything we can understand. I don’t know about you, but that is a peace I pray for in this time of fear and hysteria. People are being hurt in America trying to get basic foodstuffs in stores. People are afraid to leave their homes. I understand we are trying to “flatten the curve” of the virus, but sometimes I think we are acting as if these are the end times of life on earth as we know it.
So what if we are experiencing the end of humanity on earth? Our first stop is the Dollar Store to see if they have any toilet paper? Perhaps we should be focused on the eternal and not the temporal. Surely our first stop should be God for all our eternal needs. So does God provide more than peace of mind? I want to say eternal life is at least as valuable as Purell. God provides this free gift of eternal salvation through His son Jesus. Jesus paid the price for our sins and His blood frees us forever from sin and death. That should reassure us in this time of unease. God’s love pervades any and all crises in our lives. We just need to turn to him in times of fear and trouble.
So what are we afraid of? Of getting sick? Of dying? Of eternal death? Our priorities in life are often backward. We fear getting physically sick, but we are already spiritually sick. We seek medical doctors instead of spiritual healing from God. Today let us all determine to reprioritize our lives and dedicate ourselves to loving God and loving others. Let us all determine to accept the “peace that passes all understanding” by giving God our worries and live life as He wants us to in Him with prayer and thanksgiving. And remember C.S. Lewis’ advice: let the end find us doing “sensible and human things” and not be “huddled together like frightened sheep.” Covid-19 poses a severe threat to some elements of our society, but we shouldn’t let it dominate our thoughts and actions. Remember my favorite Bible verse: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. (Romans 12:2) God is at work in the world as a whole and in us particularly. Let Him change our fears into joy, our despair into hope, and our need for wet wipes into a need for eternal salvation through Jesus our glorious savior.
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