The
world is practicing social distancing, but social media helps us keep in touch
with one another. We Christians are thankful for the technology. We are not
naive of the value of technology, nor are we anti-science, anti-technology, or
anti-intellectual. Rather we contend that the reason for all this development
of technology and its possibility is because the God of the Bible endowed human
beings the potential and the moral obligation to be so. In the beginning, when
God created human beings, he blessed them and commanded them to have dominion
over the things of the earth. The word “dominion” in Genesis 1:28 has the idea
of ruling over, subduing to our advantage. So, man building bridges, curving
tunnels, exploring oceans, and etc., defying the law of physics (nature) for
our advantage is commendable and not surprising to Christians.
In
this pandemic, as the scientists search for the cure and as we Christians stay
indoor out of love for our fellow neighbors, we continue to need one another
and keep in touch with one another through social media. It is unfortunate that
we have to stay indoor for this long especially that we cannot gather together
for the events of Passion Week. However, God continues to work in a mysterious
way for our own good to the praise of His glory. Here are some of the intriguing
observations I see concerning Passion Week in this time of Pandemic. I called
it “intriguing,” because they are good but at the same time, we need to be very
discerning. I would want them to be far better than these, to go deeper than
the peripheral, into the truths revealed in the Scripture.
1.
Some
people have a better theology in their WhatsApp status update than their actual
theological convictions.
It
is good to see people expressing their faith in social media. Actually, we
Christians are to be salt and light of the world. With the arrival of the
Passion Week, many are updating their WhatsApp Status with gospel-centered
quotes, and theologically profound verses. On the other hand, it is also true
that some of them have no idea what they are uploading. They are just
sugarcoating their spiritual looks. Social media has become like the Athens of
Paul’s day. They are for people to tell or hear some new things, new fads, or
new trends. While some are doing with a theological conviction consistent with
their beliefs, others aren’t. Sure, with the technology, one can easily access
the best quotations of our times, the most relevant lines of our day. You could
find almost anything by just googling it. Even without googling, there are ways
how certain things get your attention through a way of recommendation by
artificial intelligence. Moreover, part of what it gets to be in social media
is to receive and to see many (if not all) the latest stuff of the time.
My
concern is regarding the skin-deep profession of faith. It comes easily and
goes away easily. While it may (Oh! I pray) stir up convictions to some of the
viewers, it doesn’t last long. One of the great penetrating truth in all these
is the availability of the word of God for all of us. God’s word, sound
doctrine, Christian ethics, faithful teachings are at our reach. We have no
excuse for not accessing them when in need. Also, what it means is though how
sinful we may have become, still, the image of God in us continues to reveal to
us our moral obligations, what is good for us and what we should be doing. I
would like to compare with the sentiments offered by most of the politicians
and public speakers in times of calamities. They would often say, “Our thoughts
and prayers are with them!” Well, we all know that such statements have become
just a way of reacting politely, and not meaning anything. As Donald Trump questioned
the sincerity of Nancy Pelosi’s prayer for him, much of the spiritual
sentiments of our days are often just a cultural way of conversation. But in
expressing so, we are demonstrating that we really have the obligation to do
so, which is morally good and right to do so.
2.
Genuine
Christians miss the church: the fellowship of the saints, the gathering, the
worship, the singing, the unison of prayer, and the hearing of the word of God.
Christian
missing the church, which I mean is the emotional aspect of wanting to go
church, and not the action of skipping church, is actually deeply encouraging.
One of the great revelations of the suspension of church worship services is
the distinction of the genuine Christians from the cultural Christians. The
genuine Christians come to church because they love to in the manner of
Psalmist and early Christians. Oh! How the psalmist loved to be in the worship
place! He would rather be in the place of worship a day than to be anywhere
else thousands of days. The cultural Christians come to church because it looks
cool to be spiritual sometimes. As long as the culture favors, they go along
with it. When the culture of social distancing and the government says otherwise,
so, the love of gathering not only vanished but they even repudiate those who
seek to gather.
It
is unnatural for a Christian who has a normal life to be skipping the church
consecutively. It is a sin to do so according to the teaching of Hebrews. Just
as the deer pants for water, so Christian must long after the fellowship of the
saints. It’s natural for Christian to be in the church. It is really
encouraging to see Christians expressing their desires to come to church. I
admire and share the concerns of Tom Buck when he tweeted here and there
questioning the suspension of Church as non-essential while, on the other hand,
permitting the industry of abortions and fake news media as essential.
Actually, it is not the high morale of an individual Christian that makes him
yearn for the gathering of the saints, but it is the Spirit of God that works
in us. It is a theological reality.
3.
Some
Christians are popularizing the truth written by the humanist and naturalist
regarding the environment, which they have discovered on the basis of a Christian
worldview, but with a pretense of finding it from their obfuscated worldviews.
Every
now and then, social media is sharing the effects of lockdown on the
environment. There are really some good outcomes of this lockdown. I am not an
environmental scientist to come out with scientific evidence that the sky is brighter,
the air is purer, and what else, but I sure hope and believe so. It should be a
thing of delight to share such good news, but most of what has been said and
shared are unfortunately virtue signaling. They condemn man in third-person as
if they themselves are above reproach. And they exalt animals and nature as if
they are of more value. What is a Christian response to this? A Christian knows
that he is responsible for his sins and his actions. We all are wicked people
without exception. No matter what we say or mean, what we do or try to do, how we
try to do, each of our motives is mixed with sins. We affirm with the book of
Genesis that all the intentions of man are only evil continually. We all live
in a fallen world and are inescapable in our participation of sin, directly or
indirectly.
The
basis to care for the environment is very much a Christian teaching. We are
just a steward of God’s world. And by the way, God is not done with the
creation, He is preserving it. No greed of man nor threat from an extraterrestrial
object can exhaust the resources of the earth unless God wills so. In fact, God
in an amazing way has a way of preserving the environment. For the Israelites,
He has the concept of Sabbath, Sabbatical year, and Jubilee. It could be true
that the lockdown we are experiencing could be a way of preserving the
environment, but we don’t know that for sure. But no matter what, only human
among the creations of God is the bearer of God’s image. What that means is
Human is of infinite value if we are to weigh it in the scale of our material
possession. Sure, what is the profit if one gains the whole world and loses his
own soul?
I
can’t intellectually appreciate the activities and saying of the
environmentalist and naturalist especially when they are outspoken deniers and rejecters
of God. They have no basis for their values from their worldviews. Some of the
things they said are true but it is because they happened to live in God’s
world, though they denied its Lawgiver. It has to be true because God created
the world and preserves it continually through various means. With the true
thing they discovered, they mixed it with this and that with their atheistic
assumptions. And the unthinking people received it without discerning what is
true and what is not. They are the hijacker of Christian worldviews. As I think
of this I remembered what Ravi Zacharias said of Richard Dawkins when Dawkins
forgot the name of a book and said “Oh God!” Ravi commented that Dawkins had
invoked the name of the Lord whom he denied in order to help him deny His
existence. It’s true that even the atheist can only exist in God’s world.
4.
Many
have expressed the reality of God’s mysterious grace in this pandemic without
acknowledging the Creator but attributing to the Coronavirus.
One
of the resounding testimony of the Bible is that God is and always remains
faithful. He remains faithful even if we are wicked and gone astray. He sends
sunshine and rain for the just and unjust alike. So, it is not a surprise for
Christian to see many people saying good things that come with the coronavirus.
People are dying of this coronavirus, more than a lakh have succumbed to this
virus already. It is also true that with or without coronavirus over 56 million
people are dying every year. The bible says it is God who gives life and takes
life. We can’t live longer nor die earlier than the will of God. God continues
to preserve us. Despite the falling of stock markets, and the rate of
unemployment soaring up, many are thanking for some of the things they get in
this time such as the quality time with family members, a vacation like
suspension of works, a generosity from neighbors, a love for a fellow human,
and many more.
We
know that these are not the gifts of coronavirus. The virus cannot give
anything. In fact, these are abstract things that cannot be handed over to
someone as gifts which we normally do when we talk about giving. Also, this
virus is invisible (to our naked eyes). If there is anything this virus can
give is itself, which of course is the one we dislike most currently. We
Christians know that it is God who is working for our own good to the praise of
His glory. It is His mysterious grace. I agree with Obadiah Sedgwick, a Puritan: “No good man ever lacked
anything that was good for him. I may lack a thing which is good, but not which
is good for me: ‘For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace
and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’ ‘God
has a special providential care for His church because we are the apple of His
eye, His children, His lambs, and His jewels. God's care for His people is
gracious, tender, mysterious, glorious, exact, and often extraordinary.’” This
should help us to worship God.
5.
Some
Christians are delighted to share the live streaming link of their church
service or of other churches like those competitive exams minded people who were
uncannily excited to share the link of each and every match of Barcelona vs
Real Madrid, and McGregor vs Mayweather.
It
is delighted to see Christians seeking for some kind of Christian fellowship
through any means. We thank God that many churches could continue to minister
to their members through live streaming technology. It’s equally a delight to
see Christians inviting and encouraging others to join them by sharing the live
streaming links of their churches or of others. It reminds me of some people
who are too excited to share the news of their favorite footballers and
celebrities. Not a long time ago, when La Liga wasn’t suspended, many have the
habit of updating their WhatsApp status update about the matches between Real
Madrid and Barcelona. The first time I heard of “El Clasico,” I thought it was
chocolate, but it turned out to be one of the most exciting events of the Laliga
football league. I also remember the time my WhatsApp world is filled with the
news of the match between McGregor vs Mayweather. Many were excited to watch
the match. While the watching of El Clasico is not amoral, even if that means
staying up late till 03:00 AM, and inviting others to join is also not amoral,
it is telling what our hearts are after. In fact, sometimes I wondered why some
people, who are supposed to be preparing for competitive exams are so obsessive
about football matches. Their online activities seem to suggest that they are
looking for a career in a football club.
My
main concern is not that some people are too obsessive about football matches
(though I am concerned somehow) but that not many professing Christians are
taking the time to watch the live streaming of the church services in this lockdown
when they are staying at home with almost no works. In fact, even if there is
any work, must a Christian not lay aside his time to spend time with the word
of God? What I am trying to accomplish from this comparison is to encourage
more people to be committed (even if not excited) to the live streaming or
church services in this time of lockdown, and also to encourage one another to
do so by means of sharing the links. At the same time, we thank God for the
many preachers who have decided to preach to webcams and empty rooms. That’s
not a very comfortable experience. Also, we thank God for pastors and leaders
of small churches who are organizing meetings through video conferencing apps. It
is the experience of many that technology comes with lots of distractions. No
Christians want this to be normal, nor should never be, and will never be.
Nothing will prevail against the bride of Jesus Christ for He continues to
build the Church.