What is God teaching me through all of this?
The last time I posted, I talked about the dangers of isolation.
And here we are, living under self-quarantine, isolated from our friends, coworkers, and community.
So many thoughts. But rather than try to rationalize what’s happening or assign blame to this or that, I’ll instead share seven things, based on the Seven Deadly Sins, that I personally repent of in light of COVID-19.
(By the way, the Seven Deadly Sins are not listed as such in the Bible. Early church leaders came up with this list.)
7. Sloth
How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
Prov 6:9 NIV
At the end of a long day, I would escape from the world by diving into screen time. Now, screen time is the only way I can connect with much of the outside world, and it’s getting old. Fast.
Looking back, what if I used even half the time I’d spent on the couch, swiping through social media or the infinite Netflix menu, to connect with friends instead?
I’d use my exhaustion at the end of a day to justify my desire to stay home, avoid people, and do nothing, but I realize now that connecting with others can be energizing, even to an introvert like me.
I used to rue the Sundays when we’d have to wake up early to set up for mobile church. Now, I pray for—and look forward to—the day when I can see my church brothers and sisters in person, not on a flippin’ Zoom call.
6. Wrath
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Eph 4:26–27 NIV
I’ve been ticked off at so many things and so many people over the years.
What a waste of time and energy.
With so much uncertainty looming due to a virus that doesn’t seem to care who you are, where you came from, or what you think about it, I can’t afford to be harboring grudges or unforgiveness towards anyone. At the risk of sounding morbid, I may never see them again.
I don’t want to carry unresolved anger to my grave, whenever that time may come.
I’ve said it before: unforgiveness is, in my opinion, the number-one unconfessed sin among Christians.
5. Gluttony
“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”
Ezek 16:49 NIV
I once gave an Ash Wednesday message about fasting, in which I talked about all the food we missed in SoCal while we were living in Japan.
With so many foodie friends on social media, we’d indulge in food porn and long for a chance to try these dishes ourselves.
Not only can we no longer dine at restaurants as of this writing, we can’t even eat what we crave sometimes, what with certain groceries being scarce due to hoarding. Finding chicken eggs at the supermarket has become a mythical quest, like searching for a golden pot of enchanted unicorn poop at the end of a leprechaun’s beard or whatever.
Not being able to eat what I want, when I want, gives me a very, very superficial glimpse into the lives of those who cannot afford to eat, period.
I did have compassion for the poor, but I’m now repenting for practically mocking their predicament with my own gluttonous practices.
What if I took the money spent on food I’d eat for fun, not for sustenance, and used it to feed the hungry instead?
4. Envy
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exod 20:17 NIV
In the weeks before the outbreak hit the news, some friends of mine were talking about the cruises they were going on or had been on. Some of them had been on so many cruises, they were getting tired of gorging on AYCE feasts off the coast of Puerto Vallarta 24/7. (See no. 5.) #firstworldproblems
My family has never been on a cruise, and I lamented that I couldn’t afford to take them on one anytime soon.
I’d also swipe through social media and see that, on any given day, at least one of my friends would be on vacation in Hawaii, Cancun, Japan, or some rom-com-looking spot in Europe.
Now, nobody’s going anywhere. Will cruises even be a thing anymore? (I don’t mean this flippantly. My heart goes out to those who are stranded aboard cruise ships as of this writing. What a terrible predicament to be in—one that I am not making light of.)
Now, I’m grateful to have a home to shelter in, and my spirit is restless at the thought of those who don’t have such luxuries.
3. Lust
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
1 John 2:15–16 NIV
This is a family-friendly show, so I’ll frame lust as “intense desire for that which we shouldn’t have.”
As I write this, I am in my backyard, listening to birds chirping and leaves rustling in the breeze. I glance up from my laptop to behold the beauty of a flower, marvel at the form and function of fruit growing in the trees, and gaze in wonder at the clouds in the vast blue sky.
Then, I think about God’s plan for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
They were supposed to live in community in the garden, take care of it, and eat any of its fruit except for one (Gen 2:15–18). There was no death. There was no shame in being naked (v. 25). (I once saw a bumper sticker that said, “God’s original plan was for a couple of vegans to hang out naked in a garden.”)
Then sin came along and ruined it all (Gen 3).
And what was the sin? Disobedience, based on discontent.
Adam and Eve weren’t content with the paradise God had given them. They wanted more. So they disobeyed God by eating from the one tree they weren’t supposed to take from (v. 6).
I lust after things I don’t have but want; for example, nice vacations for my family (see no. 4). This both feeds into and results from a sense of discontent, which tempts me to sin.
I need to stop lusting after what I don’t have and be content with what God has already given me, especially at a time like this, when toilet paper is even scarcer than eggs.
2. Greed
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Luke 12:15 NIV
Jesus then goes on to tell the Parable of the Rich Fool, who had such a great surplus of grain that he wanted to build an extra barn to hold it all (vv. 16–18).
The Rich Fool then says to himself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry” (v. 19), to which Jesus replies, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” (v. 20)
Why do we hoard for a tomorrow that may never come?
Hoarding like the Rich Fool is rooted in a lack of trust in God to provide. Immediately following this parable are Jesus’ instructions not to worry about what you’ll eat or wear because God will take care of you (vv. 22–31).
Now, about hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer…
My family didn’t stock up before the panic set in and cleared the shelves, so we couldn’t hoard anything. I must confess that there were times that I wished we had, though.
We were running low on paper products, including paper towels, napkins, and facial tissue. This forced us to conserve and go old school, using cloth hand towels and handkerchiefs. We started cutting one napkin into four pieces. With my allergies, I used to go through a box of tissues in two or three days. Now, I try to use no more than three sheets per day.
Seeing how much we were consuming and wasting resources leads me to repent of spending lavishly on disposable items.
What if I started spending less and saving more? Maybe I wouldn’t be so stressed about paying the bills, which leads me to work even harder to make more money, leaving me so exhausted, I want to vege out every night, watching TV (see no. 7) or swiping through social media, envying what my friends are eating (see no. 5) or where they’re going (see no. 4).
1. Pride
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
Remember back in the day, circa early 2020, when people would carefully curate their images for social media? Remember the Instagram pics of everyone looking like a fashion model, eating fine food (see no. 5) and traveling in style (see no. 4)? We presented the best snippets of our lives to the world via filtered photographs displayed on hi-res screens.
Now, we present ourselves to the world via Zoom, and it seems that many of us have stopped trying so hard to look a certain way.
I’ll show up for a video chat with bed-head, casual clothes, and jeans I haven’t changed in a week. (Hey, at least I’m wearing pants.) I don’t bother adjusting the lighting on my face or cleaning up the room behind me because I just don’t care anymore (and apparently, neither do most of the people I Zoom with these days).
I no longer have the energy to feed my pride and maintain a public face. I’m letting my true self show, warts and all, “This is Me” bearded-lady-style.
Beyond that, I look at the other areas in my life I take pride in—my abilities, my accomplishments, my crazy toy collection—and ask myself, what does any of it matter anymore? The virus doesn’t respect anything that any of us take pride in.
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
Jas 4:6 NIV
This pandemic lockdown has humbled me. It has revealed what I’ve taken for granted, exposed my lack of compassion for others, and challenged me to reflect on how much I really trust in the Lord.
And if I don’t change my ways as a result of these trials, then, what a waste it all would have been.
