NEWS

A further analogy from COVID

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you…” Rm 6:12-14

I have written in previous pastoral letters using COVID as an analogy for sin. The virus takes control of the victim’s cells biochemical process to multiply itself, until there are sufficient number of viruses to causes havoc with the body’s immune system, and interrupts essential body functions. Similarly, once sin gains entry into our lives, it weakens our spiritual defence and multiplies. That would interrupt our walk with the Lord and our appropriation of strength from Him, which is essential for our spiritual vitality.  

After some two years of intense public awareness and vaccination campaigns, as well as lockdowns to fight the pandemic, the government has changed tact. The economic and political costs of lockdowns are deemed unsustainable, and the new approach is to “live with COVID”. Infection case numbers are kept from the public eye, and death and hospitalisation numbers have stopped being highlighted. These rates, currently higher than they have ever been since the start of the pandemic, are considered the “new normal”. On the contrary, China is persisting with a “Zero-COVID” strategy, which is putting cities into lockdown and many citizens in great hardship. Such a target is very costly and unpopular. It has been explained that China has no choice but to take this approach because of China’s huge population. At the infection rates experienced by the West now, China’s health system would be totally overwhelmed. The Chinese government’s official reason for this strategy is to value the lives for her citizens. It is arguable which of the two strategies is the sustainable and wiser approach.

I can’t help but see a parallel of this in our own attitudes towards sin. Biblical teaching is for us constantly to stay alert against sin through the Spirit, to flee from temptation, and by His power not to leave the devil with any foothold. It is a “Zero-Sin” strategy. Much as sinlessness is not an achievable objective on this side of heaven, it is the target that the Lord has set for us as His redeemed people. When we fail, in Christ, we have full forgiveness if we confess and repent, and we have a fresh start. It is a costly strategy because it demands denial of our fleshly desires and self-centeredness. But the alternative is to allow “sin to reign in our mortal bodies”, and allow our “members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin”, just like the COVID victim being enslaved by the virus.

Unfortunately, it is frequent to see Christian communities taking a “living with Sin” attitude, adopting a “new normal” to make the message of the Cross more palatable to compromising Christians.

While “living with COVID” may be the practical solution we have to accept in dealing with the pandemic in today’s world, “living with Sin” is NOT what the Lord accepts. He says “sin shall not have dominion over you…”, because He values our lives.

Let us be faithful to the Lord: live as one Redeemed, Thrive in our new life of holiness and be Fruitful for His glory.

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