Of late I get so irritated at the virus stuff that I feel like running through Fred Meyer sneezing and coughing on people. Do you have to worry about me doing something like that? No, I can feel like doing something crazy like that, and even fantasize for a bit about doing it with a smile on my face but I wouldn’t do that. Why? Because it isn’t wise, and I don’t have to act the way I feel.

So, as I wrote yesterday unity is the goal, God commands us to pursue it diligently, He blesses those who pursue it, and He disciplines severely those who create disunity in His church, even to the point of killing them.

At present we have two camps, one feels strongly that we need to stay home, wear a mask when we go out, wash our hands 6 times a day, and disinfect everything repeatedly that gets touched by others. They feel so strongly that they call those who don’t follow these restrictions and guidelines murderers.

The other side believes that the whole pandemic thing is way overhyped, that it isn’t much worse than the flu, that government has gone way overboard in trying to control it, that they are violating our Constitutional rights, and are destroying the economy of the United States, and their words for the other side are usually even more rude and crude. Here are some guidelines that I am attempting to follow during these days;

1. I ask myself this question, ”Is this a heaven or hell issue”? That is, is the thing I am feeling strongly about and wanting to fix or make go away, going to cause someone to spend eternity in hell if I don’t straighten it out or not. Every issue, opinion, viewpoint, and philosophy has a value. Whether Fords or Chevys are better would be at the bottom of the value column, and everything else is in between. ”Is abortion acceptable or is it evil”? would be right up there near the top for me. So in this column of issues there needs to be a line consciously drawn, everything above it is worth making a fuss about, everything under the line is not, though I may feel strongly about it. Making a fuss has a price to be paid, and often the cost is in relationships. Wise people count the cost carefully.

2. Can I express my view in such a way that it doesn’t insult or attack the character of those who hold a different or opposing view? We tend to attack people, in order to add clout to our opinion. Learning how to express my opinions graciously is super important. 1 Peter 3 says we express our opinions with ”gentleness and reverence”.

Tomorrow I will look at a couple more principles.