Social distancing during this COVID-19 epidemic has me actually thinking about the opposite: social unity.
Togetherness, not as something we have to wait for, or look toward our government to mandate, but a collective mindset we choose to embrace all on our own. Right now, more than I can remember in my lifetime, there is a global option on the table for us – to think beyond ourselves and our families, to our nation and ultimately every other (family and nation) on this shared planet.
Only God could use something so terrible, with thousands of deaths around the globe and a virus we don’t have an antidote for – together for good.
People worldwide are thinking about the elderly as a valuable part of our communities that need protected more than ever, media and citizens alike are taking an interest in ensuring the most vulnerable have a place to go during this time, and caring for others (such as what the heroic healthcare workers are doing daily) is being lifted up and celebrated.
Even on social media, a set of platforms that was becoming more and more about self-promotion and political division – is now consumed with sharing stories of the love somehow sprouting up through the cracks of this epidemic, victories over the virus, and creative jokes and memes to help us make it through our days with a smile.
What a unique time this is to be alive, and to witness maybe one of the best examples of our country (and world) unifying together in solidarity.
Did God know we were so desperately thirsty for a reason to unify? That we had become exhausted by disagreement and fatigued by self preservation?
Did God know that we had become comfortable and consumed with our own circumstances, so much so, that consideration of others was an afterthought? And did He know that we needed a season of humility, rest, and repentance?
Yes.
So here we are. An opportunity we didn’t ask for, but that God provided, for us to slow down, humble ourselves, and let Him finally get our attention again.
It’s reminding us that life is fragile, errands don’t matter, and the trap of distraction had been previously mislabeled as ‘being busy’. When all is stripped away, the only things that matter in this world are two: loving God, and loving people (including ourselves). After the social distancing is lifted and we can once again venture outside, we could build our entire lives around just those two important things. What could that look like for you, for me?
In order to build lives of significance, we need to press into faith, and look beyond just survival.
Significance is about love and about others, whereas survival is only about ourselves. A life of significance may include sacrifice, humility, and patience – all things God has demonstrated for us already. And I don’t know about you, but at the end of my life when I stand before God, I hope significance (not survival) is the theme of my story.
Ironically, in this season the best way we can support each other is to separate, but — in that separation is the closest the world has been to partnering toward the exact same goal in a while.
Ironically, in this season the best way we can support each other is to separate, but — in that separation is the closest the world has been to partnering toward the exact same goal in a while.
The unity built through COVID-19 is a precious thing – it took a pandemic to get it. So when things turn around, let’s not let it go as fast as we embraced it in our time of need.
We have the power to choose, and let’s choose it right now before the shelter in place rules are lifted. Let’s choose right now, today, to humble ourselves, to be encouraged, and to be unified. Even in isolation.
