How am I loving my neighbor (and enemy) as myself if I take potentially fatal risks with their health??
Hello Readers, hope all’s well. Time for another #shorts post.
Today is a more ‘casual’ kind of post, because I’m writing about recent events in my life. I’m only sharing something that happened recently. Not everyone will be interested in a post like this, which is cool. Hope you check out my other posts.
In a few recent posts, I said I was sick and that I was taking sick days. I used this as an opportunity to write about the value and necessity of quality rest, listening to our body, and not pushing ourselves beyond the limit. To push ourselves like that and not get rest when we need it is not God’s Will, and not what He taught us.
Well, about a week after writing those posts I learned I had COVID. Yep, the plague, the pestilence sweeping the world since last year, I had it. I had Faith of course the LORD would protect me from any danger from COVID. But as I’m sure you can understand, I still wasn’t happy to learn I was positive for COVID.
Anyway, today I’m just going to share with you my experience with the COVID virus. I figure it’s “newsworthy” enough to write about on my own blog. But if that isn’t something you feel like reading about, I say thanks for checking the blog today and I’ll see you next time.
I Got Lucky
I was already starting to feel better when I went and took my free COVID test. It was a drive-through test and I didn’t have to leave my car for it, which helps keep everyone safe. Even though I was beginning to feel better, I knew I needed to make sure of what I had. I’d suffered muscle pain, a cough, bad congestion, fatigue, and headaches. All symptoms of the flu, but with the pandemic I knew I couldn’t say “this is the flu” without testing for it. So I got the test.
As I said, even though I know the LORD protects, and I was beginning to feel better, I still wasn’t happy to see “POSITIVE” when my results came back. I knew for one thing it meant I would have to quarantine (which I was already doing anyway). And there was a brief moment of fear, too, having caught this new and mysterious virus. It’s a strange virus with strange behavior. Who wants to be sick with a thing like that??
So yeah, I had a moment of worry and have no problem admitting that. No matter how strong or weak their Faith is, no one wants to get a new virus with unpredictable outcomes.
By the Grace of God, I was in excellent health before I got COVID. Taking my vitamins every day, eating good nutrition with a mix of all the food groups, and getting regular exercise. I know my immune system was very strong before getting hit with COVID. I’m sure all these preventative steps I took to boost my health paid off in helping me to fight COVID. Another example of how what we choose to do or not do today can either pay off or hurt us tomorrow.
About ten days since developing symptoms, I was feeling fine except for a minor cough. The worst of my symptoms lasted about five days total, with clear improvement each day after the worst. And that was my experience fighting COVID. Five days of bad flu-like symptoms, about ten days total of symptoms. And all I used for treatment was bed rest. I won’t ask for any donations for my medical expenses … because I didn’t have any medical expenses!!
The COVID test is free, like I said. So it cost me nothing, exactly $0.00, to recover from the virus. And for that I am Grateful, because I know not everyone has the same experience.
But the one thing I did do, which was difficult, was to quarantine. And I have something to say about that.
To Love Our Neighbor in a Plague
To self-quarantine is hard, there’s no doubt about it. It’s boring and lonely to be stuck at home, and it’s not good for people’s mental health. All this gets 100x worse once you start feeling better, and feel ready and even desperate to leave the house. I would never say people should find self-quarantine easy, because it’s not. It’s damn tough.
But I was content to self-quarantine to help prevent the spread of the virus, knowing I had COVID. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor (and enemy) as ourselves. Walking around in public knowing I’m positive for COVID is not loving!! That would be hating my neighbor (and enemy), and taking risks with their lives. That wouldn’t be Christian at all.
You see, when we test positive for COVID it’s not about us anymore. We’re all free to take whatever risks we like with our own health. But what right do we have to take risks with other people’s health??
This virus is unpredictable; some people it kills quickly and brutally. It even kills young, healthy people. There’s no way to know how things will go if you get infected with this thing. Now I’m free to take risks with that if I choose, but it’s not my prerogative or right to give you that risk if you don’t want it.
How am I loving my neighbor (and enemy) as myself if I take potentially fatal risks with their health??
That’s why I’ve always been content to wear a mask to protect others, ever since this plague started. I figured, this was the best way for me to follow Jesus’ Orders and love my neighbor (and enemy) as myself. I could follow Jesus’ Teaching by limiting the risk to others as best I could. That’s the way I saw it, from the very start. So in my opinion loving our neighbor (and enemy) through this crisis has been easy so far, and doesn’t ask much of us.
So I’ll end by summing up my opinion on masks/self-quarantine and other COVID protective measures. Christians should wear masks and stay at home when COVID-positive, out of love for our neighbor (and enemy). If we can do something, anything, to reduce the risk to others then we should do it, because that’s the most loving path. Besides which, what right do we have to take risks with other people’s health?!?!
Masks and self-quarantine isn’t asking too much of us. If we can do this to reduce the risk to others, we should do it. That’s how we can love our neighbor (and enemy) through this crisis. And that’s the loving, Christian Way.
That’s it for #shorts Part 29.
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