Life on the Pasture

One question that has been posed quite a bit during the past several weeks is this: “Why is there such fear over catching COVID-19 when the statistical chances of requiring hospitalization if it is contracted are relatively low, and the death rate is also extremely low?” (As a side note, one can easily determine the percentage of the population affected in various ways by taking the total number of hospitalizations or deaths and dividing it by the total population one is interested in sampling, keeping in mind that 1.0 represents 100%. So, as an example, as of this writing, the number of people hospitalized in Wisconsin being treated for COVID-19 is 246 and the state population is 5.822 million, so if we take 246/5,822,000 we get .00004225 — well under 1% which would be .01. Current deaths in Wisconsin attributed to COVID-19 are 916; 916/5,822,000 gives us a death rate of .00015733, well under 1%. If we take the number of deaths over confirmed cases, we take 916/54,144 and end up with .0169, or a close to 2% chance of, if contracting the virus in Wisconsin, dying from it.)

I bring this up not to minimize COVID-19. This past Sunday, I led a memorial service for a person who died of it. Obviously, we are taking precautions at church to ensure social distancing and cleaning of surfaces, including between services on Sundays. And, indeed, certain demographics seem to be much more vulnerable. Again, the question is: “Why such fear?” Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., and the best science confirms that smoking is a leading cause, yet cigarettes continue to be sold and people smoke. We know that excessive drinking of alcohol causes numerous health issues, yet that continues. We also know that excessive eating and obesity contributes to significant health issues, yet there is no mass campaign to encourage people to count calories and watch their weight.

Some have suggested it is a fear of death resulting from a society that has walked away from God. Others suggest that all the media hype has caused it. Some even think it is all political. For me, I think it is the fear of the unknown. A novel (or “new”) virus by definition brings with it many unknowns. For instance, if this were a typical flu, we would think in terms of a “season.” This keeps going.

So what does this have to do with us as followers of Jesus? Psalm 31, a beautiful psalm of David, has a few reminders: “Into Your hands I commit my spirit (v. 5),” and, “My times are in Your hands (v. 15).” I would encourage you to spend some time meditating on the entire psalm, the context being one of David being under duress. As we read it from a New Testament perspective, we cannot help but think of our Lord Jesus who not only goes with us, but, as true God, also knows the future and how to lead us and protect us.

Life is filled with risks. But how many of us seriously contemplate the fact that when we start our car and head out of the driveway we may end up in a serious accident? We simply go about our daily lives, seeking to avoid that which we know has a good potential for causing us harm. And that’s what our Lord wants us to do — go through this life confidently as we go through it with Him.

– Pastor Schmidt