For those of you keeping track, today (August 13, 2020) is day 134 of Orange County, Florida curbing our behavior in some way because of COVID-19. When this first began most people were willing to abide by guidelines and mandates. Further analysis would probably reveal that the ease by which we all transitioned into shelter-in-place was due in large part because we assumed, either consciously or subconsciously, this was temporary and at worse an eight week or so inconvenience. Unless you are an epidemiologist most of the population could not envision 100 plus days and counting of our community being only partly opened and with the threat of a total shut down always looming if numbers become unmanageable.
Understandably, most of us went into survival mode when this first hit, doing whatever it takes to get through the day. A friend of mine told me recently that she is exhausted from the thousand new questions that she has to sort through multiple times a day. Do I have my mask? Do I have the right mask? Should I go into that store? Do I wipe down whatever I buy? Is school going to start? Do I buy school supplies? What do I do if I forget my mask? Am I going to lose my job or my business? You get the idea.
While we do not know when this is going to end, staying in survival mode is not healthy. If you haven’t already pivoted in your thinking, you need to make that shift. The pivot is where you quit being consumed by the inconveniences and frustrations or become more proactive in managing these things, and move into living like you know and believe that God has not taken a hiatus. Our spiritually can’t take one either. It is often helpful to hear others talk about their thinking and the framework they are using to process these times.
This is why we are pleased to offer access to multiple audio files from Ken Myers and his organization Mars Hill Audio for your listening pleasure. Ken Myers cut his professional teeth in broadcasting at NPR. Ken is a brilliant student of culture and applies better than most his deep and abiding faith in God to the totality of life. He longs to help believers grow in their understanding of the times in which we live so that ultimately we may know more fully our Savior and reflect Him to a watching world.
The button below will take you to a page with several listening options. I would specifically refer you to Ken’s interview with ethicist Gilbert Meilaender on how we are to think about our responsibilities in the midst of this pandemic and in light of the sixth commandment. The link will take you to a page where there will be a list on the right, click on Gilbert Meilaender’s name. The beginning of this interview mentions an article by Brad Littlejohn entitled Moral Reasoning in a Pandemic. I would also commend this article to you. The article was written at the beginning of this crisis, but is still relevant and gives us much to consider.
Feel free to use the button below or you can download the Mars Hill Audio App. I would recommend that you become a Mars Hill Audio subscriber. Ken’s depth and breadth of theology, philosophy, politics, economics, and the arts makes for interviews that are thoughtful and filled with ideas that point us to the cross.
Photo by noor Younis on Unsplash (watch)
Photo by Evan Dennis on Unsplash (question marks)
