What Proverbs Taught Me About COVID-19

I want to talk about COVID-19.

Except, at the same time, I don’t. At least, not in the way that most people are. Rather, I want to use the current situation—with all it’s self-isolation, quarantines, social distancing, etc.—and see if we can use our current circumstances to find hope and comfort in Christ.

This morning I was reading through Proverbs 25, and I came verses 6-7: “Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” This made me think of a lesson taught by Jesus, which is very similar:

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:8-11)

This, in turn, got me thinking, and for some reason my mind immediately went to our current situation with the Coronavirus and whatnot. What you are about to read isn’t a polished essay or anything, but just rambling thoughts I scribbled in my journal over the course of a few minutes as I sat at my dining room table this morning:

—————

There is a deadly disease called Sin that has plagued the whole human race, having developed from a virus called Pride, which, when fully developed, leads to the fall, to destruction, and to death. Yet there is an antidote to Sin called Faith, and there is an antidote to Pride called Humility, which is administered like a painful shot from a long needle—painful and excruciating in the moment—yet builds the immune system against further spread of the deadly disease.

The Infected

However, like a poor-tasting medicine, Humility is not very desirable to the taste buds of men, although it is good for him. In fact, man often fails to properly value vaccines whenever he underestimates the disease, so it is understandable that he doesn’t care much for Humility, since he doesn’t take Pride as seriously as he ought; he doesn’t value Faith because he doesn’t recognize the implications and the effects of Sin.

When man ought to quarantine himself off from the Pride which he knows leads to Sin, instead he freely galivants through all the town, getting too close to things he ought not get close to, touching things he knows he ought not touch, embracing desires and impulses he has because he does not take the disease as seriously as he should, and failing to properly cleanse himself to prevent the further spread of the disease. The virus plagues all, but he thinks only of himself, of the immediate, of the sensuous, of anything but the long-term ramifications of how his Pride and Sin might harm and infect not only himself but others also.

Now, don’t get me wrong, he knows he ought to stay inside, but he feels as though he is entitled to wander and entitled to roam freely; he cannot stand constraining himself, be it for his own benefit or for the benefit of others! He knows he ought to quarantine, but he feels as if doing so steals from him his fundamental right to live freely. He does not recognize that true freedom is being free of the disease, and how, by his own failure to quarantine himself, he might actually bring about the destruction of another. In his failure to quarantine, he is not taking the disease as seriously as he should.

When this infected man is invited to an event, he pridefully seeks out the esteemed position—popularity, honor, acknowledgement—not caring of the insult he gives to those who properly deserve the position of honor, nor considering the shame that will follow if he is demoted from the position by one who is greater (likely because they recognize the disease with which he is infected). Rather, he lives for the immediate, the sensuous, and the aesthetic, and so the plague of Pride snatches him away, leaving him to exalt himself no matter the injury he brings upon himself, all for a moment of glory. He has contracted the disease, and by his folly has led to his own doom. Oh, what a fool.

The Quarantined

The wise man—that is, the humble man—has a different method. All too aware of the symptoms of Pride and Sin, he only goes outside with a mask of protection on, and keeps a distance from those who show evidence of that contagious virus he so separately seeks to avoid (Pride, Sin). He serves the sick and helps them to grow healthy but takes the proper precautions to ensure that he himself does not get sick, lest he harm himself or plague others.

When this man is invited to an event, he does not take the high position—he cares not for popularity, honor, or acknowledgement—for in doing so, by his own will he would self-contaminate and would thus become injurious to others, that which he has no desire to become. Rather, he takes the lowest position, the place of a servant: As a doctor, he is the one who deserves the praise (given his precautions and his access to an antidote), yet rather than seeking praise for himself, he humbly submits himself to serve those in need, those who are infected. Thus, he does not injure those whose position he might have stolen, nor does he set himself up for shame. Rather, by foresight, by care, and by love, he shall be seen as worthy to be raised higher to the table, elevated not by Pride and Sin, but by Humility and Faith, by the grace of the Host!

Conclusion

Like I said, this isn’t some polished piece of work for heavy distribution; it’s just some thoughts I had this morning while working through Proverbs. Just as David used his time in the shepherd’s fields to teach him more about God (see Psalms 8, 23, etc.), I am a firm believer that we should strive to use our current circumstances to learn more about God and the truth that is revealed in His Word. May we strive for humility and strive to live by faith during this time, lest we succumb to the disease of Pride that leads to Sin, which is plaguing the whole world!