When Freedom Intersects Love

As churches begin making decisions about when and how to begin reassembling at our meeting houses, more and more “chatter” is being heard on social media about what people are willing and not willing to do.

I’ve heard some say masks are of very little value in protecting yourself or others from Covid-19. I have also heard others who affirm the importance of masks. Me? I just don’t know. I’m not a doctor, and I don’t know if that would matter anyway. I’ve heard doctors disagree with other doctors on this point. What I do know is that, personally, I dislike the idea of wearing a mask. I also know that as much as I dislike the idea of wearing a mask, there are others whose fears surpass my dislike of wearing a mask.

So here we are at the intersection of my personal freedom and my love for others. While the Bible doesn’t address Covid-19, it does address the principle of when freedom intersects love. Here’s what the apostle Paul said…

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).

In this time of uncertainty, when conflicting “science” is being presented, when thousands of lives have been lost, and when no vaccination is yet available — it seems to me that we should look to Scripture and not the Constitution for our direction.

While we have our “Constitutional Rights” as an American citizens, the cause of Christ might be better served by suspending some of those rights for the cause of love.
To act in a fashion wherein I forfeit my rights as a demonstration of my compassion to those who are frightened and uncertain about the dangers of this pandemic, as well as avoiding the potential ire of our community, who might think we are acting irresponsibly, seems to me, to be the very application of Paul’s liberty and love principle meeting the road in the 21st century.
So in a few weeks, I’ll forgo my personal liberty, put on a mask, and hopefully strengthen our bonds of fellowship. I want to close with a comment Chuck Webster shared a few days ago. He said, “When this pandemic is over, and the history books are written, I hope that Christians will be known more for our standing up for the well-being of others than for standing up for our rights.” And to that, I say, “Amen!”