How to be an Agent of Change

Day 71 of coronavirus in France

Day 20 of enforced confinement

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

James 3: 13-18

When you figure out what you are allowed and not allowed to do in your neighborhood, you are faced with new realities of inequality. Your eyes are opened to the inequalities that have always existed but are now thrust into your scope. You begin to wonder if confinement is really just a luxury of the privileged. Some are sunbathing in their country homes, while others are crammed into postage stamp apartments. For some the risk of spreading the contagion is less tangible than the mental health risks of following protocol.

“Perfect love drives out fear.”

1 John 4:18

Peter cut off the ear of the soldier. Fight or flight can make us act in unexpected ways, like lashing out in anger without considering the consequences. Peter stood in stunned silence while Jesus put the man’s ear back on. How many times did he replay that image in his head that night? Earlier that morning at the triumphal entry he saw the insurrection building momentum. An hour earlier around the table he was so confident that he knew how this was going to turn out – I’m with you to the end. Jesus knew that the ends they each were visualizing were not the same. I see Peter walking in a fog after the ear incident; questioning everything, “Maybe I don’t know him after all. Maybe I never did.”

Name your fear and release its hold on you.

Unexpressed negative emotions never die; they fester.

Loss aversion is human.

What is it you have lost?

What are you scared of losing?

Fear of the virus is a legitimate source of anxiety for many people, but it is not the only fear spreading around.

There’s the fear of missing out fueled by the prevalent message that everybody else is enjoying fewer responsibilities, visiting museums online and reading enriching novels. Cue eye-roll. The reality of a pandemic means that we are busier than ever. Neighbors need our help. Loved ones need someone to talk to. Simple tasks like grocery shopping take more energy and more effort than ever before.

Fear of loneliness. Complexity incarnate. Are we scared to be left alone with our thoughts? Do we need validation? Are we confronted with our short comings in self-regulation? There’s nothing you’ll find in a website article that will be a miracle cure, but there are plenty of things we can do when we face this one. Write down three new things you are thankful for every day and each time you feel anxious. Practice breathing exercises. Meditate on uplifting content. God delights in you. (source)

Fear of being forgotten. Community groups like churches have used social media for a while now the same congregants who gathered together would also happily log on to stream singing and sermons online, but now that community gatherings are resumed to that we are confronted with the limits of virtual community.

Fear of financial ruin. Small businesses are struggling, many have closed their doors. Some creative entrepreneurs have restructured their business to provide new services needed during this time. Many are converting to no contact delivery and at home services and meeting needs in a new way.

Fear of vaccination. Yes, a vaccination will come out of this. Yes, many more will opt in than ever before. While the best inoculation for most healthy people is their own antibodies, don’t rush out to catch it today at the peak, wait till hospital rooms and ventilators open up before you try catching it because in the process you might infect another 1000 people. The choice will be yours, but for today patience.

Fear of crime increasing. While this hasn’t been my experience here, I do recommend everyone have a plan to distribute food to those who have no savings and decreasing incomes. I believe that already existing associations will restructure their services to meet this need. Churches sitting empty might become food pantries. Donated foods are being delivered directly to the homes of beneficiaries in food baskets rather than requiring them to visit the grocery and greatly reducing physical contact for everyone involved.

Fear of conspiracy. Is someone benefiting from controlling us? How is this economic crisis advantageous for anyone? The author of this post falls on the side of ancient wisdom, “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.” — Isaiah 8:12

Fear of falling behind in school. At first, we heard, “What is four weeks in a scholastic career?” Now I’m not convinced that children will be gathering in the school building before fall according to scientific study of the “relaxation of interventions” in countries further along than us (source) But my conciliation is that this global phenomenon means that every student of every classroom in every country is experiencing the exact same thing. You can’t truly be behind if everyone you are comparing yourself to – and the grade above, and the grade below – all have the same time delay to overcome. My goal is that she doesn’t hate school when she does get a chance to go back to the classroom.

Fear that drastic measures are unfounded. The next time someone compares the fatality rate of this novelcoronavirus COVID-19 with influenza, don’t forget to remind them that influenza is allowed to run rampant with no restrictions while the numbers presented as the fatality rate of the contagion we are fighting today have been painstakingly crafted by 2.5 months of physical distancing in every country in order to keep them that low. No world leaders who have seen the data have been willing to allow it to hit at its full unbridled capacity. I pray we may never know that fatality rate. (source)

Fear of toxic messages propagating fear and judgement. Turn off social media. Turn off the 24-hour news channel. Unfollow and block people who post toxic messages. Turn on the light. Listen to the audio Bible, tune in to the Holy Spirit. Surround yourself with messages that uplift and bring life.

Fear of the unknown. What will they think of next? It seems every day there are new rules, new protocol. Some I genuinely need to know, but not all of it is beneficial to maintaining peace in my heart. On a heart level we are all performing triage of the barrage of information.

City fears are not the same as rural fears.

Those without access to hospitals and health care will see the highest fatality rates. But those in cities will also experience higher fatality rates because a typical daily commute brings them in contact with more people. It is likely that if you live in a village you will have less physical distancing measures or have them for a shorter amount of time since there are fewer people involved in the process of infecting, confirming, treating and recovering.

If you are strong enough to not live in fear of COVID-19, then join the movement, start a Jesus Pandemic and together let’s help those around us not live in fear of confinement.

Your questions answered

What do the terms mean?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the viral strain that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness.

Why are some people immune?

Researchers in Italy are studying entire villages that have had no cases of acute COVID-19. Blood samples of immune populations have been taken for analysis to determine how the rest of the world can better prepare for future waves. In addition to blood analysis and interviewing them on their diet the researchers also note that the villagers adopted wearing masks early and often.

Does an influenza vaccination put you at risk?

No this virus is not in a flu shot. No the flu shot did not cause the outbreak. No a flu shot does not make you more susceptible to it. (source)

Why should I self-restrict myself if I’m strong?

God has created us in his image with the ability to anticipate danger in order to save our lives and our loved ones. Every four deaths in a region represent 3,000 active carriers spreading it unknowingly to vulnerable people who would survive a flu or even the COVID-19 if treatments were more readily available. (source)

What do we know about the victims?

Not much. Unless there is a scientific report cited, then it’s just conjecture. “No official Italian Government websites provide a full description of the characteristics (both age and comorbidities) of cases in the ICU, nor of those hospitalized, while unofficial and sometimes conflicting data are circulating in the media.” (source)

Are projections better today than a few weeks ago?

“The virus is slightly more transmissible than we previously thought… lethality estimates remain unchanged… [only because we have increased] very intensive social distancing and other public health interventions now in place.” —Neil Ferguson (source)

unsplash-logoJon Tyson

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