IN A COVID INFFECTED WORLD
The weeks turned to months turned to years of Covid-19 has worn on us. (Anyone remember the “two week” shutdown to flatten the curve?) Here we are two years later still dealing with the ramifications of this contagion on our lives. Death, fear, illness, distancing, shortages, masks, lost celebrations, weakened relationships, all these societal changes wear on us. Daily. To what end? Our emotional and mental equilibrium has been set off balance.
We had signs of this from the beginning. We got “cabin fever” during those first two weeks. We didn’t have our go to crutches of shopping, entertainment, eating out, and meeting friends. How were we going to handle ourselves? Those were our emotional escape mechanisms.
It began to dawn on us in the fall that first year when kids couldn’t go back to school and many of us were still working from home, that we were becoming emotionally fragile. News programs began talking about the increasing rate of depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide attempts. Our world had been rocked. Our internal well-being was challenged. All of us were affected to some extent, but those without a strong foundation of faith found themselves simmering in hidden currents of emotional magma that threatened to break through at any moment.
What erupted from that was angry outbursts, hatred, polarization of people, and all the physical signs that accompany feelings of anger, fear and outrage.
Most likely none of us have handled these feelings as well as we wish we would have. But we have learned a lot about ourselves and enough time has passed for us to evaluate and consider how we might live differently. The words Be kind have become a mantra for schools and in society at large. But as Christians we will be helped most if we turn to scriptural truths to tell us how to live. (This was true before Covid, but it has now caught our attention.) So how shall we live ladies? Here are some verses from Romans 12 that speak to these issues. (Share other verses in the comments that have helped you.)
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Romans 12:1 “…Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:3 “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.”
Romans 12:9 “Love must be sincere.”
Romans 12:9 “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”
Romans 12:10 “Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:13 “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn”
Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another.”
Romans 12:16 “Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”
Romans 12:17 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.”
Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:19 “Do not take revenge”
Romans 12:20 “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.”
Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Priceless 