RESPONDING TO COVID-19: Revealing or Reflecting?

“We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic”, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the Munich Security Conference on Feb 15.

This infodemic of misinformation, conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and media manipulation has accompanied COVID-19 at an exponential rate.  Opinions are formed, and changed, at the same speed that uncertainties increase.  Every day new theories – and solutions – are presented and leaders are criticised and placed under suspicion by well-meaning but ill-informed ‘experts’.   Sadly, Christians are not exempt from falling into the trap of spreading well-intended-misinformation

So how should we respond?  This is the key question that seems to be unanswered simply because there is no consensus as to what truth is and how to proceed forward.  Should we continue with lockdown or not?  Is the cure becoming a curse?  Will the damage to the economy be a higher price to pay than trying to stop the spread of the virus?  What about all the conspiracies?  Do we reveal the evil that lurks behind the seemingly good or do we simply turn a blind eye and be positive, for the sake of being positive?

There are probably as many different answers to these questions as there are people who have opinions.  So, how do we as Christians respond?

The Bible might not address a pandemic or an infodemic per se but it does provide principles in how believers should respond.  One such scripture is found in Matthew 5:14  “You are the light of the world ...”

This analogy of Jesus is given at the Sermon on the Mount, directly after teaching the beatitudes.  This provides a clear indication that the context of “BEING LIGHT” lies not in revealing evil but in reflecting beauty.  In this season of uncertainty and fear, Christians have a mandate to refrain from revealing all the evil of the pandemic, and to reveal the beauty of Christ.

Consider the following:  Light is not something that you can touch or see.  Scientists describe it as electromagnetic radiation – something that collides with an object and then the light is reflected back towards our eyes. When this reflected portion collides with your retina, you see the object.  Light exists for the purpose of reflecting the object the onlooker should see, not to reveal the darkness that it hides.

Jeremy Statton explores it as follows on his blog (http://www.jeremystatton.com/purpose-light):

Sometimes when this phenomenon of reflected electromagnetic radiation hits our retinas, something amazing happens:  The light reflects beauty.  The red rose is red because it reflects only the light waves that our eyes interpret as red. As if that was not enough, the beauty doesn’t stop there. Our sensory cortex sends a signal to another portion of our brain and we feel something.  The light finds the beauty and sends portions of itself back at you so that you can see it. And feel it.

My experience is that most preachers emphasize the intensity of that light. They want your light to shine brightly. To be a high wattage light bulb so that the light will fill the darkness.  But maybe brightness is not the right emphasis. If all we do is give others images in black and grey and white, we have not done enough. Light reflects beauty. Light finds what is good and brings it out for others to enjoy.

The Message translates this passage differently:  “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.”

God’s fingerprints are to be found everywhere. In the rose. The diamond. In my children. In the pandemic.  In the fear and uncertainty.

We can choose to reveal the darkness or reflect the beauty.  When we seek to be the light of the world, we must shine brightly. But we must also find beauty in what we shine on. We need to bring out the best in others. We need to see their intrinsic value and beauty. 

Do you shine brightly? Do you bring out the God-colours of the world?