by Mike James

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wash over the world, there are some important lessons we must learn. One big lesson is that life can change quickly and dramatically. For many of us this would pertain to our economic situation. Many people who had a decent job are suddenly out of work. In some parts of the country, if this virus does not relent soon, we could have a national jobless figure of at least 20 percent. That would approach the jobless rate during the great depression. Hopefully, we will get back to normal soon. There is good news coming from China, where people are going back to work at the epicenter of the virus outbreak. For others, our retirement accounts may have taken a big hit. Hopefully, over time, we can recover that money.

For others, there is a greater loss. Some of us may lose friends or relatives. The losses have come suddenly, and many don’t have the ability to be there to say goodbye. Most of these losses are happening to our mothers, fathers, grandfathers, and grandmothers. My father passed away fifteen minutes before I got to the hospital he was staying in back in 2017. That was a tough moment for me, so I can imagine what some people are going through now when they may not have been prepared to say goodbye in the first place. This virus does not mess around when it gets ahold of someone older with a preexisting condition. Death can come quickly. 

Although the rate of death will probably be just a bit more than the yearly flu—the problem is, lives are being lost all at once rather than over a period of months. This stems from the newness of the virus and the ease of transmission. A number of patients are being lost due to a shortage of resources needed to deal with the number of patients in some locations. Without lockdowns, many more people would be lost due to the greater virulence of this virus.

Another big lesson is how quickly the mightiest nation on earth can be brought to its knees. One of the theories Church of God groups have had for years is that if the United States does not repent and turn back to God—we will be brought down. As we listen to the news this week we can see how serious the present situation is for the economic stability of the country. If we don’t get our economy up and running very soon the entire world could go into a depression. I don’t think we will, but imagine if this pandemic were worse than it is—the world could easily go into an economic meltdown. The point is how quickly a robust economy can disintegrate.

You have probably all heard the stories of how people are reacting to the stress they are feeling. Some people are hoarding products like toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, hand sanitizer, and rubbing alcohol. When I went to the grocery store a week ago, I could not find any of these products. This week it was the same story. There are many other items missing from the store shelves that I never see missing. We are not in danger of our supply chains vanishing or products vanishing. What that is about is fear and worry by some. A local gun store very close to me is hitting the jackpot with gun sales right now. We have even seen senators selling stock due to intelligence reports they were privy to. Cashing in on insider information, but not making their constituents aware of it. Actually, there is no law against what they did, but it leaves a bad taste for some people. Many people are fearful.

On the other side of the coin we have big companies stepping up to the plate and donating much needed items. Apple is donating 9 million masks for health care workers. Green Door distilling company is producing hand sanitizer and donating it to their community. Ford, 3M, and GE are working together to make respirators and ventilators. One pizza shop owner in New Jersey took out a $50,000 loan just to keep his workers employed over the next couple months. These stories give me hope that we are not quite at the end of the age yet. I believe people will not be as generous when we do get to the end (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Another interesting lesson is how we have not come together as a nation. There is still bickering between the Democrats and Republicans in putting together a stimulus package. There is bickering and debate over when we should try to bring the nation back from shutting down. During 9/11 it seemed like we all came together.

Among all these lessons, the biggest lesson I hope we learn is what matters most is your relationship with God. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added unto you.” If we are truly seeking the Kingdom first, we know that our economic, political, social, and even physical life situation is not as important as our relationship with God. I hope the biggest lesson you learn from all of this is to make sure you are focusing first and foremost on working out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13).