How should Christians handle Coronavirus crisis?

The world is volatile and unstable. The world operate base on fear and greed. The world is driven by anxiety and pride. The world lust and covet after what they do not have. The world says love only those who loves you.

• In Luke 6:27, Jesus says love your enemies!
• In Romans 12:2, Paul told us not to conform to this world but renew our mind.
• In John 17:16, Jesus said we are not of this world just like He is not of this world.
• In James 4:4, friendship with the world is enmity with God!

As believers, we do not operate and behave as the world. Growing up, we were taught ways of the world. We learn to fight and strive. Lets discard these worldly mindset and embrace the mindset of a different kingdom. Kingdom of God. (I shall talk more about this in another post. 🤗)

1)Submit to our Government & Leadership

COVID-19 has set the world into panic mode. Just take a look at the stock market! Many world leaders have no answers to this virus. Some of them have died because of it. How should they handle the situation? Should they impose stricter travel bans? Should they close all the schools?

To be honest, there is no best way to curb the spread of this virus. Nowadays, people are moving from one country to another so quickly and easily. The incubation period is around 2 weeks so people won’t know if they are infected or not. People with symptoms refused to seek medical help and continue their daily life, infecting more people. 🤦🏻‍♀️

As believers, we need to submit to our leaders. All authority comes from above. We must show respect and grace to our leaders. They are not perfect. What would we do if we are in their shoes? We do not understand the pressure they are facing everyday. The things they do may not always be right. But we trust that they are doing their best.

So let’s stop complaining and start praying! Pray for our leaders and government. May wisdom be upon them to make the right decision. Pray for dishonest and corrupted officials to be removed. Pray for their health and healing.

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

2) Guard Our Hearts

COVID-19 is not only a virus but also a huge fear monster. Because there is no known vaccine, fear of the unknown has crippled the hearts of many. Look at what people are doing at the supermarkets! Fighting over toilet rolls! 🤷🏻‍♀️ People are stocking up masks, hand sanitizers, instant noodles and other staples. In my city, alcohol swipes were sold out. Diabetes patients and people who really needs it, can’t buy it. 🤦🏻‍♀️ This is so sad.

The world react in fear. Scarcity mentality kicks in. How will our business and career be affected? Will we still have enough? Is it safe for our children to go to school? As believers, we must guard our hearts from fear during this season. We do not have to fear this virus!

God is faithful. He is with us. God is bigger than ANY virus! COVID-19 cannot stop the will and plan of God for our lives. Trust that God will provide for us. Trust that God will help us navigate through this crisis. Trust that God will protect us from this virus. Trust that God will heal us and our loved ones who are infected. Meditate on Psalm 91. Spend time with God, give Him all your fears. Pray over the promises of God in your life. Let the Prince of Peace still the storm in your hearts.

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

3) Wisdom In our Daily Life

I believe in faith. I also believe in exercising wisdom and common sense in our daily lives. Boasting that we have faith is useless when we act like a fool. Exercising wisdom during this season is very important. Living like a fool exposed us to unnecessary problems. There are people who do things on purpose to show that they are not fearful of getting infected but ended up tested positive. We do not want to behave like that.

Practice good hygiene, avoiding unnecessary travels and physical meetings. Some meetings can be done via Skype or zoom. Try not greet each other with kisses, or touch things like microphone (unless it’s your personal one), used utensils, sharing a drink, etc. If we have flu-like symptoms, consult a doctor and stay at home! If we attended a event which turn out to be a infected cluster, let’s isolate ourselves and watch our health. Be socially responsible.

4) Do not Discriminate

I was reading about people discriminating Chinese or anyone who look asian. A student from Singapore was beaten up in UK by 2 men who said “We don’t want your coronavirus in our country.” This is a pretty extreme case. One woman posted on social media that she had been spat on because she is Chinese. Discrimination and prejudice against the Chinese community all over the world has increased. They were frown upon, scorned, harassed, verbally and physically abused. Many don’t even dare to go to school and work. But they have nothing to do with the virus outbreak in Wuhan.

Such hateful behaviour are not right. Let show acceptance and love towards others, regardless of race or religion. We do not have to invite them to our homes, share a meal or have close fellowships with them. But we cannot reject them or associate them to coronavirus just because of the are Asian. Mutual respect for one another must be maintained.

5) Love God, Love People 💕

1 John 4:8 days that Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Instead of living in fear, let’s us think how we can help others in need. How can we love our friends and neighbours? Hoarding and fighting over toilet rolls is definitely not love.

This morning, I left home for work. I saw this in the lift! Someone put this hand sanitizers at every lift in my neighborhood. ❤️ I think this is what Jesus would do! Share our resources, share the love! Just like the early church in Acts! This is an opportunity for believers to shine in darkness!

What else can we do for our friends and loved ones during this season? How can we love others during times of crisis? Share in the comments!