It is a hard line to draw. When do I hug a stranger who wants a hug, or spray them with disinfectant? I think these days it would be easy to disinfect first then hug later. But I am not too sure that is what we are called to do. From the fear of Ebola contaminated people running around rampant in the streets, to Christ sacrificing Himself for the world, there is a large disparity in associated actions.
I had a patient ask me this morning “What is the real story? Is this hype too, like Avian Flu, or SARS, or Swine Flu? Or is this real?”
Real.
“What is the bottom line?”
50% of people who get it have died, but they aren’t as healthy as you or I. But they might be healthier than the average American. I cannot say for certain. But the real question is, with that knowledge, are you able to act like Christ? In the image of Him? Are you willing to be Loving before scared? I think it is necessary, even now, to put yourself and your family second. We live in a bubble of protection, and we sometimes fail to realize how significant that bubble is, until Ebola shows up.
Shep Smith from FOX News thinks you shouldn’t care about Ebola at all… I totally disagree with him. Kind of like Rush Limbaugh in this Excerpt, I feel as though Shep might have been put up to this by somebody. Even though FOX is known to NOT side with this current government, it seems to me somebody pressured this belief on him. Anyways, the point of my article…
Think of the message of Love that Christ brought. Did He asterisk His statement to Love One Another in John 13:34? The asterisk saying – “well, this only applies to periods of time when there is little risk from leprosy, or the plague, or Ebola. Just love one another when everything is very comfortable.”
Lets sit back and picture the world when these words were spoken. A world with no understanding for micro-organisms, or very little knowledge of their exact method of distribution. The amount of fear over disease was significant at the time. Yet, the words were spoken, to exist as timeless truth regardless of the state of the world. Thus, they still apply right now.
Treat each other as Christ would treat you. Don’t look at somebody with a cough as a concern, or a hurdle, or someone to avoid. This is the furthest from Love that there is. Even in the presence of real danger, we are called to love. But lets take the real danger in context. There is no EBOLA here, yet. And there might never be. Maintaining close control of contact lists will provide the CDC with better odds at keeping this highly contained, so far it hasn’t been that impressive, but I expect that this will change. As the attention to their mistakes continues to grow and travel media channels. Security will tighten, and we should see improvement in the control.
That being said, there are still opportunities for this virus to be leaked. Air travel is the greatest source of risk right now. As if there is one way that we could imagine seeing this virus jump over geographic boundaries, it is contamination on an airplane. Otherwise, just be alert to media announcements, and all should be good. And all along the way. Treat each other with love.
Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E