Fear has won. We are shutting down. All, just in case . . . just in case someone gets sick and dies, or, more likely, someone gets sick and sues the school district or the county or church or business or what ever organization was so irresponsible to actually hold an event where someone might, just might, pick up a virus and pass it on.
Yes, the swine flu is contagious, as are all types of influenza and lots of other illnesses as well. And yes, there are concerns that the relatively mild version going around now may hit again next fall/winter with a vengeance. But if that is the case, wouldn’t it be far better to get the mild version now and have some immunities against a more virulent mutation that might, maybe, perhaps, show up next fall? Or would that be too much common sense thrown in the mix here?
Frankly, I think we need to stop driving our automobiles. Completely. Because if we keep driving cars, there’s a definite possibility that someone, somewhere might have an auto accident and get hurt or fatally injured. I also think we absolutely must stop eating in restaurants. Because if we keep up with this habit of eating out, someone, somewhere is bound to get food poisoning. I also think we should all stop cooking. Because if we insist on continuing to prepare our meals at home, there’s a definite chance that someone, somewhere is going to get hurt in the kitchen. I also think we simply must stop getting medical care. Because if we continue in this pernicious habit of going to physicians when we are ill, there is a definite chance that someone, somewhere is going to get misdiagnosed and will suffer horribly as a result.
In addition, we must, we simply must stop reading books, magazines, journals, or newspapers that might stimulate our mental activity. Because if we don’t, it is possible that we will disagree with the author and might experience anger and say something unkind about someone else and then be liable for a slander lawsuit. Or even worse, we might have to change our minds about something and discover that what we’ve been thinking is true for so long just isn’t true at all.
Mostly, we must, we simply must ban the Bible. No one must read this book. Way too many people have read it for themselves and have discovered that the perfect love offered by God to all of creation is so freeing that fear is left behind. What a terrible thing to know the power of freeing love in a world that says, “be scared of everything and live in terror of the possibility that someday, somewhere, you might have to suffer or even die.” Yes, too many people have read the words of hope in the Bible and said, “If Jesus could lay down his life for me, how can I do less for others?”
There are reasonable guessimates that at least 27,000 children die a day from starvation. That’s about one every 3.2 seconds. At the time of the writing of this article, one person in the US has died of swine flu. But in less time that it took you to read this sentence, another child just died the horrible death of not enough to eat to sustain life. That’s real. That’s not some bogeyman of “it might happen” out there. Instead of letting fear shut us down, why don’t we let the love of God free us to really follow Jesus? Those who focus on saving their own lives are doomed to lose them, because fear drives that need and makes it impossible to love others. But love . . . real, perfect love given by God, will drive out all fear and give us the courage to embrace all of life and discover real joy as we willingly lay down our lives for others so that the least, the littlest, the last and the lost of the this world may experience the kingdom of heaven.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In