Working from home (mostly) has given me much too much time to think, and I’ve been thinking about the depth of what’s been called the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a public health crisis, yes, but it has the potential of becoming so much more. Here are just a few of my thoughts:

Financial

It has the potential of becoming a financial crisis. We’re obviously in a financial slowdown as a result of COVID-19, but should the “stay-at-home” orders last much longer, we run the risk of creating a full-blown financial meltdown of the US and subsequently the world economy. Entire industries will be gone, and the recovery may last as long (if not longer) as the Great Depression. What’s more, the financial crisis will lead to more health issues, thus exacerbating the public health crisis. This is preventable!

Mental Health

It has the potential of becoming a mental health crisis. Fear has driven much of the panic surrounding COVID-19. Fear of death, first of all. We Christians, of all people, should have a better theology of death because many Christians have led the fear parade. Way back on March 23rd, R. R. Reno of First Things wrote a piece reminding us that we are not to fear death (we don’t desire to hasten it, but neither should we fear it). Never in my life have I seen so many followers of Christ shouting down other followers of Christ in such a public way–rooted (I believe) in two things–fear and self-righteousness. We are not being very good examples of Christ to a world that is hurting and searching for answers to tough questions. This, too is preventable!

The longer people are quarantined the more susceptible we become to loneliness and depression. As Genesis teaches, it is not good for people to be alone. We are created for community. For a society that was already struggling with depression, we don’t need any help to make it worse. Not to mention, and this is only somewhat related to mental health issues, but there is the increase in substance abuse and domestic violence.

I have a deep concern (and I pray daily) for those who struggle with substance abuse. The necessity of working a 12-Step program, of attending meetings and staying connected to accountability measures, is taken away in this time. Virtual meetings are no substitute to physically going to a meeting and encountering others on the journey face-to-face. I wonder if anyone has “modeled” the financial cost to our health care system (not to mention families) when many addicts relapse because they were forced into isolation? 

Culture

This shut-down has the potential to become a cultural crisis. This may, in fact, be the final nail in the Judeo-Christian western cultural coffin. There will be many who will not be bothered by that, but I am not one of them. The very foundation of the American experiment lies in the Judeo-Christian worldview. This pandemic forces us to the precipice of rejecting the very values that underlie our nation. We are, in the name of sacrifice, rejecting the true nature of sacrifice. Don’t tell the countless millions who have sacrificed their very lives that self-preservation is the essence of our existence.

Part of the cultural crisis is that faced by churches and houses of worship during this pandemic. They will never be the same, and the influence they once enjoyed in the culture will continue to diminish. There is some good that can come out of that. First, the church has been forced to re-tool. Second, the church has been forced to reassess its understanding of discipleship and evangelism. Third, the church has been forced to reflect upon its history and ask itself the question: “Is what we are what we were meant to be?” Already, some positive signs are emerging (which is hopeful), but I suspect that the landscape, both urban, suburban and rural will be dotted with empty, deteriorating buildings left by congregations unable to survive the financial impact of COVID-19. It doesn’t have to be so.

Constitutional

There is the potential that this becomes a constitutional crisis. This potential goes hand-in-hand with the cultural crisis mentioned above. I am still amazed by how quickly we, the people, surrendered our freedom to an over-reaching government.

The very fabric of our nation changed in the blink of an eye. The constitutional protections we have long enjoyed, which have been eroding for several generations, were, in one fell swoop, washed away, and I fear (there’s that word) we will never be able to reclaim them. Our freedom of assembly? Gone. The government said we shouldn’t gather in groups of 100 or more, then it was 50 or more, then it was 10 or more…then, it was stay at home. Yes, it was for a very noble cause–the health of “others.” Don’t do it for yourself. Do it for others. Noble, indeed.

There’s a fork in the road ahead when we will have to ask what’s more important, the survival of the other, or the survival of the whole? Stanford University School of Medicine professor John Ioannidis offers an interesting perspective on the subject that bears hearing. Which will we choose? Fear should not compel us to choose wrongly, but we’ll be aided by those who deeply desire to change the heart of who we are as Americans.

Political

All these measures were done without the U. S. Congress’ approval. Entire states and local communities were shuttered without a single legislative vote of any legislature or city council. Not one duly elected representative body gave assent to these measures. Actually, the legislators all went home, thus abandoning their responsibility to represent “We the people.” We, the people, are left to be led by executive mandate, whether federal, state or local. I’m sorry, but that sounds a lot like dictatorship or monarchy. If we’re not careful, and if those legislators who are the elected representatives of the people do not step up and begin to question what is happening, then this public health crisis will become a political crisis. No, what it may become is a revolutionary moment. 

Some may call me an alarmist (and I may be), but when I sit around too much, these are the things I think about. I suppose I should quit sitting around so much! I think I’ll go check my tomatoes in the garden (it’s a good thing I don’t live in Michigan!). That should take my mind off of the cost this crisis will ultimately have on all of us.

Even so,

Until next time, keep looking up…