This article is really interesting.
It seems legit, and I’m going to assume that here.
So I understood the “flatten the curve” idea, to not
overwhelm the capacity to treat severe cases coming. I get geometric growth. Here are some new thoughts:
1. Economic and political fallout.
If this is the medical mainstream writing, it makes me
wonder if the CDC or administration is soft pedaling the urgent need to
isolate, out of a desire to soften the economic impact. You don’t have to be a never-Trumper or
partisan against him to wonder this. Humans
aren’t very good at preventative austerity measures – we’d rather deal with the
pain later – so it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
2. Panic or preparation?
Most people seem to be equating panic with a call for a significant
disruption to life. This article is
calling urgently for a large scale, intense isolation – very disruptive! But they aren’t calling for panic. They aren’t the same thing. Panic is the response to disruption, which
exacerbates it.
3. Developing…
Opinions are changing on this rapidly. My bakery-employed family got a note today,
NOT to come in tomorrow… or all week.
Three days ago, I thought it overkill to cancel sports and seminars and
church. Now it looks reasonable.
4. How important is worship?
The Luther quote from the last post is very revealing to
me. He would avoid places his presence
wasn’t needed: I assume he’d be leading worship in church. During the Black Plague. But, again, the limits of historical
perspective are real. What would Luther
have done, if he had our medical understanding?
That we don’t know.
5. A personal lesson
I’m really torn. As a
pastor, the need for the saints to gather physically is really important. Nothing is more important all week, our
people are fond of saying. It sets us
apart from the evangelical church that takes church attendance casually. It really bothers me to consider canceling
church along with other churches. There’s
a self-righteous streak in me that wants to be “better” than all the churches
that “wimp out.” At least I can be more courageous and hold worship! But that’s the wrong line of thinking, it seems. Worship IS most important: that thought also sets
us apart from a secular age that lumps worship of God in with going to a movie –
in both you have a group of 50-200 people in the same room for 1-2 hours. That really bothers me to equate the two like
that, but medically it’s true.
So with a
genuine yet temporary emergency, why not live-stream for a month or even three? Lord willing, I would have the courage to meet for worship at the risk of
a hostile government arresting me, but this is a different kind of risk,
calling for a different kind of humbling.
Will I learn the lesson God is setting before me, or keep thumping my
chest on a point irrelevant to the present moment?
6. The Uncertainty
All this assumes the article I’ve linked is accurate in the
detail of urging extreme isolation. I think that’s right. It’s what I’m now hearing from the most apparently
legit sources, but I DON’T see it at the CDC right now. That’s interesting. Is it the political motive I mentioned
above? Or is this link overdoing it a
little? This matters for what I’m going
to do or cancel tomorrow and the next day!
Feel free to send me the resources to which you’re listening.
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