# In the World, but not of it
MODERN\-DAY PERILS
Language: en
Author: Leonard Martin
Bethel, PA
Original issue: The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Summer 2020, Number 2
Source pages: 20–21
Read article:
Original PDF: Summer\-2020\-Remnant\.pdf
[The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Summer 2020]()
![Aerial view of a city skyline beside a lake at sunset]()
It is August 2020, over four months since the coronavirus pandemic started, and it is still affecting our lives\. People are still getting sick\. The government and its decisions continue to be at the center of a lot of our conversations\. The cause and cure are ongoing topics\. The difference between those that believe the coronavirus to be a real threat and those that believe it to be primarily an agenda of political nature are becoming more distinct as this virus slowly makes its way through our communities, churches, and society as a whole\.
The mandates being issued by the governors of many of our states are forcing God’s people to make decisions on issues we have not faced before\. At what point does the government cross the line of interfering in our religious freedoms by putting in place mandates that will affect how we do church? How should we relate to the differences among us concerning the mandates? Should we or should we not follow them? What should our attitude be towards those in authority when we feel that they are doing things that are politically motivated? What should we do with all the “unbelievable things” that are being passed around, even from well\-meaning Christians from what they would consider to be very valid and from legitimate sources? What should we do with the many, what seem to be, “conspiracy theories” that are being propagated and peddled from one person to another in such a manner that makes it hard to refute them? I, in no way, am going to attempt to answer how a church should relate to the specific mandates but would like to address some concerning attitudes and other responses that have been observed throughout our plain communities\.
One of the most concerning issues is the attitude that people have had and are having toward the government\. In 1 Peter, the apostle Peter calls us to “honor the king” and the Apostle Paul admonishes us in Romans 13 to be “subject to the higher Powers, for there is no power but of God”\. The word honour, as used in 1 Peter 2, in reference to the king, means to “prize” or to “fix valuation upon\.” A verse like this and others would indicate that when we speak of our government and, for that matter, others, our attitude should be one of respect\. The words and the tone of voice we use should reflect that commitment\. Our choice of words and the tone we use will speak volumes\. They reflect our attitude\.
I personally believe that we as the plain community have done a lot of damage to our “light” and “witness” by refusing to wear the mask in required public settings\. But God looks deeper than our actions and we should too\. The remarks like “no one will tell me I have to wear that thing” and others similar to that have their roots in a “lack of respect\.” God clearly tells us, though we may not be able to always obey in every situation, respect and honor is always to be seen and heard in our attitudes and speech\.
The apostle Paul is a good example of one who had a heart to honor those in authority and repented when he failed to do so\. When Ananias the high priest asked the ones by him to smite him, he called the high priest a “whited wall”\. When told that he had reviled the high priest, he was very quick to apologize for his wrong even though the high priest was wrong in asking them to hit him\. It might remind us of the little saying, “Two wrongs do not make a right\.”
Having a bad attitude because the government is making what we think are wrong decisions will not bring about right\! As we find our way through these mandates, let’s make sure we do not sin against those in authority by speaking about them in a disrespectful manner\. Let us repent of any bad attitudes and make sure our heart is in a position to honor and then the words and tone we use will convey the same\.
Another area that is extremely hard to know how to respond to is that of all the negative information that is floating around surrounding Covid–19\. Many of the plain community tend to distrust the government’s way of handling the situation\. Because of this we are quick to believe and pass on negative information as fact\. How do we know what is true and what is not? We need to be so careful, even when the information comes from what we believe to be a reliable source, because the more this negative information is passed along, the more folks will distrust the government\. Case in point, there have been numerous deaths that were not directly connected to Covid–19; however, it was reported that Covid–19 was marked on the death certificate as being the cause of these deaths\. After fact checking some of these supposed cases, it was found that some of these reports were not true\. Since several reports have been verified as untrue, I no longer know what to believe\. I think we should all be very careful what we do with the information we come across and do all we can to verify the information before passing it on as fact\. If it is hard to believe, it is all the more important to check the facts or not pass it on until it has been proven\.
Throughout this time period it seems that the conspiracy theories have just escalated\. A lot of speculation surrounds the origin of Covid–19, the possible underlying motives, and secrecies the government has in how they are handling the whole Covid–19 dilemma\. How do we know if the many propagated theories are true? If they are true, how will that affect the way I live for the other kingdom now? Will it change the way I live? Will it somehow help me prepare for these supposed difficulties that are coming?
In Luke 21, we have a verse talking about future events: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear of things that are coming on the earth\.” Are we going to respond to the future in faith or in fear? The media proclaims Covid–19 to be a very dangerous, infectious virus\. This perception has caused many in our world to start buying and hoarding for fear of things coming on the face of the earth\. We now have articles and theories being peddled by many that seemingly will cause fear of the government and what they are planning to do and ultimately men’s hearts will fail for fear\.
The Apostle Peter said that *…God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind –2 Timothy 1:7\.* Whether these claims are true or not, the Bible still calls us in Philippians to think on *…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report… –Philippians 4:8\.* To spend even a little time following these theories will have a negative and spiritually draining effect on our lives and the lives around us\. Thinking about them not only promotes fear but also makes it even more difficult to respect and honor the government\. In reality, some or many of these things may not even be true\. As Christians we try to be a peaceful and trusting people, yet this tends to make us vulnerable to be quite gullible\. We are quite willing to believe negative claims, allegations, and theories without checking the facts to see whether they could even be true or not\. My appeal would be to continue to seek those things that are above, to think on the things that are noble and virtuous\.
As believers, we are facing another challenge\. The unity within our groups is being challenged in ways it has not been before\. We differ in thought on how much the government should interfere in our services\. Should we even be having church if the governor would rather that we would not? What about the wearing of masks in our services? Some feel one way and others think differently\. These mandates and how we should respond to them can be quite controversial\! Now, as much as ever before, we need to extend lots of grace as we sort these things through with each other\. We must give some room to each other to understand and relate to it a bit differently\. We need much grace with one another and dare not allow these things to become a point of contention\. I believe God wants to use these difficulties to draw us closer to Him and each other, but the enemy of our souls is doing his best to have it destroy our love and commitment to each other\. Let us seek peace and ensue it\!
## Magazine citation
- [Aerial view of a city skyline beside a lake at sunset](): Unsplash\.com