I have been posting a lot of information over the last week (probably more this week than the previous 10 years combined). The reason for this is that I feel that I have a responsibility as a scientist (who has spent years studying epidemics) to counteract the disinformation that is proliferating right now and to spread facts instead. My hope is that hearing this information from a friend (or friend of a friend) might persuade someone to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously and participate in the social distancing campaign that is our best hope of keeping the pandemic at bay. That said, if it feels like most of my posts are all doom and gloom, let me offer the following counterpoint.
There is no reason to live in fear. This is a time for resolve not panic. My family is not panicking. We are taking the situation seriously by staying home as much as possible except for one shopping trip a week and enjoying occasional outdoor activities like walking trails and hiking in low traffic areas, but we are remaining calm while doing so. We are also grateful that school is cancelled for the kids, that my wife works from home, and that I am able to teach online. We recognize that we are fortunate to be able to stay home, because not everyone can!
Why are we so calm?
1. We know that COVID-19 is NOT so lethal that it would be worth prioritizing isolation over maintaining the food supply chain. If our society is forced to choose between avoiding exposure to COVID-19 and making sure that people are able to eat, it is an easy choice. So, we don’t need to run out and buy everything in the grocery store. That sort of behavior just leads to an inefficient allocation of resources where some have too much and others cannot find what they need.
2. We know that even when someone does get COVID-19, the odds are that they will be fine. We are blessed to be in the low-risk group. We are doing our best to avoid exposure so that we do not risk sharing the virus with others, particularly those in the high-risk group, but it is comforting to know that even when people in the most vulnerable age groups get sick, the odds of survival are in their favor.
3. Although the economic impact of this crisis will be severe (and predicting the scope of that is outside my area of expertise), we are constantly reminding ourselves that there are more important things than money. We are grateful that our needs our met and these days that is all we can ask for. We are also keeping our eyes open for unmet needs in our community in the hope that we might be able to help meet the needs of others too.
4. Lastly and most importantly, we have a Lord and savior “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). The Bible describes this God as a “refuge and a fortress” (Psalm 91). That is why David was able to say “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4), and Paul proclaimed “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
Although I am a scientist, I am a follower of Jesus, first and foremost. So, although as a scientist I am troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic and I am doing everything that I can to help mitigate this crisis, as a Christian, I have hope because I know that the future is in God’s hands. Though the future is uncertain, I am comforted by Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-30
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
I am glad that my heavenly Father knows our needs and that we are precious to him. So, when I am troubled by the news and the uncertainty that we face right now, I find hope and comfort in him. I hope that you will turn to him for hope in this time as well.
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