What in the World is Going On?

We all can agree that the events going on in our world today are shocking. Those of us alive today have never known anything quite like this. A world-wide pandemic has not happened in over one hundred years and it has caught all of us unprepared. Just as in anything that is said or happens in our world, I find there is a wide array of opinions on the pandemic ranging from one extreme to the other. Most believe what our medical experts are saying and are trying to do what they recommend. Yet, spend any time on social media and you will see there are many who think this is a government conspiracy, a highly inflated and overdone death count, media hype or a complete hoax.

Is this really God's judgment? Of course, we always have people who say this is a judgment from God on this group or that group, or due to this sin or that sin. I personally do not believe God has sent this upon us for any reason. We live in a natural world where things happen. I do believe God will see us through this time and give us wisdom to use what we learn and experience to make improvements for all human beings. I do believe this virus is real and worthy of our respect. I suspect some of the numbers could be exaggerated due to not knowing the exact cause of illness or death, but I do not believe this is done intentionally. Unfortunately, I believe the government and medical world were caught off-guard to a large degree and unprepared for such an event. Now they are doing whatever they can think of to try to provide help and find solutions to this problem.

Learning from the past Though we have never had a situation exactly like this in the past one hundred years, I do see some similarities in the situation based on the following from the CDC website with information about the flu pandemic of 1918:

‘Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic. While the 1918 H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the properties that made it so devastating are not well understood. With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.’ (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html) For my wife and me, it is not much of a problem for us staying home. We are both retired and have regular income. We can order groceries, food and needed supplies online and have them brought direct to our home. Yet, I certainly do understand those who are younger who may be laid off work with no income. Their jobs could be in danger, their business may never recover, they may have young kids to take care of. Even with unemployment and government assistance, many are having trouble getting registered and many are still waiting on checks to arrive. Then there are those who are still working out in the public. First responders, medical staff, essential employees. They all have to wonder in the back of their mind if they are being exposed or bringing this disease home to their families.

I believe the governments around the world are trying to do things to help, but we all wonder if the skipped mortgage, rent and credit card payments and such are going to cause more problems later on due to taking advantage of these things to alleviate the pressure right now. I certainly understand the fears and frustration of those in such conditions.

Let's come together, not get pulled apart

So often when disasters and events like this happen, it brings people together to help each other and work together to improve the situation. It is good to see so many new innovations and new ways to provide PPE, disinfecting PPE and new testing processes for the virus that are happening. It is good to see how people can work together to come up with new ideas to help in this time of great need. I do believe we will get through this and things will begin to get back to some type of normal. I do understand we all see things differently, but I pray that we can look past our differences and work together to support one another and help bring this time of sickness and hardship to a close. No matter how you view this crisis our world is going through, remember we are in this together. Do your best to remain calm, to be kind and helpful to your fellow human being. Out of respect for one another, follow the social distancing and general health precautions when you are out in public. We will get through this and better times will return.

Jim was raised in the Methodist church and spent nearly sixty years in the organized church. He and his wife became dissatisfied with the way things were going and became very disillusioned the weekly service format. After several years of looking for answers and trying different churches, they left the religious system and have been living for God outside the walls of religion and traditional church. Jim believes that God loves all people and that everyone should be loved and accepted as is. Jim started writing a blog called Done with Religion where he talks about various topics of Christian living in non-religious ways. Jim and his wife live in the Columbus, Ohio area of the USA. They enjoy their family, traveling and meeting people from all walks of life.

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