I am a Christian, and that’s why I’m staying home
I’m usually not one to post things like this, but I feel the need to put this out there. I know everyone is talking about Coronavirus, and many people are talking about the Church encouraging us to refrain from our weekly obligations or even cancelling services. I just wanted to share my perspective, and why I think it is important to not go to Church/ why I respect and agree with the decisions to temporarily close Churches at this time. I know many of us, including myself have a, “Nothing kept the early Christians from their weekly obligations, and nothing will keep me from them either” kind of attitude. But here is why, to me, that attitude doesn’t make sense in our current times. There isn’t some force or group opposing us. The government isn’t trying to push us away from our faith. If anything, I think we are being encouraged to pray more in regard to this whole thing. We are not proving our faith by going to Church. I do, however, feel that we may be in danger of standing against what we believe in by our attendance. There are many people who got the Coronavirus who didn’t show symptoms for 2 weeks! Meaning that I could feel perfectly healthy and still be spreading it to everyone around me. What if we will be those people in the future? How horrible would we feel to find out that the sweet old lady we sat next to at Church is now hospitalized and on deaths door because, “Nothing could keep me from my faith.” As a young person, I may not be risking my life to attend, but I am potentially risking others’ lives. Moreover, if I do not stay home, and I continue to spread this in my community, there would likely be exponentially more people who are hospitalized. The hospitals have a LIMITED number of resources and beds. Our healthcare system was not built for a pandemic to hit. If we spread Coronavirus too quickly, then the hospitals are in danger of being overrun just like in Italy, and that will only lead to more deaths. Our choices to stay home at all costs are saving lives! Please, I beg of you, as a faithful child of God, stand up and fight to protect the lives of our elderly and immuno-compromised. Stay at home as much as possible. God knows why you are doing it, and (with the dispensations) I believe it truly is a more holy act to pray at home for a spiritual communion than to attend. I beg of you to reconsider going out for the sake of all of our loved ones for whom this disease presents a greater risk. Also, please keep in mind that you don’t know whom other young people will come into contact with. And by spreading it to a young person, you may accidentally spread it to someone at high risk. So please remember to stay away from EVERYONE, even the people whom you believe may be “safe.”
