COVID-19: Why You Should Have a Rethink about Religion
Yesterday was Easter Monday. For many Christians, it would have been a time for much revelry. Many places would have been re-christened Galilee for the purpose of the day. Alas! No celebration happened. In fact, even Jesus seemed to be aware of the situation. He said in John 20:17 (COVID version), don’t touch me, I’m going to my Father to sanitise myself first.
The novel coronavirus had and still has every on lockdown, quarantine, isolation or curfew. Whichever applies to you, the denominator is that our lives have not remained the same since the epidemic incursion.
For a country like Nigeria which celebrates religion perhaps more than any other country, it’s been a tough pill to swallow. Religious leaders keep getting arrested for violating the anti-social gathering ban. Devout folks still can’t take it in that they have not stepped foot in a cathedral in what seems like a lifetime.
It’s still itchy for many when they tune in on their technological gadgets. When you now take into consideration that Mecca is shut, Jerusalem is ‘untravellable’ and Saudi Arabia just announced that Ramadan would be observed indoors, then, you would know that even a dream shouldn’t be that extreme. Maybe those zombie films could though.
It’s an unprecedented era — no doubt. And I believe there are lessons that we can all take from this as our world enters a forceful reset with this outbreak.
There’s too much unnecessary ceremony in worshipping God. From spending donkey hours at places of worship, to making flamboyant fashion statements, even to frivolous money-sapping thanksgivings, there are simply too many non-essentials. What matters most is worship, from a sincere heart.
Because of streaming costs and data implications, online services usually don’t last for more than one hour. Suddenly, there seems to be clarity on which frivolities to cut off. If we can do those online, why not transfer such offline too?
E-gadgets are not anti-Christ. Millennials, particularly, have had many an argument with their parents and elderly ones on going to Church with just their phones. Hymnals and Bibles have apps which can be installed on mobile devices. Still, you’d hear statements like “the end of the world is near, how does going to church only with this phone make you a Christian? You better stop listening to those rogue pastors” etc.
Now that those phones are where they watch daddy GO, has that made them lesser Christians? The essence of a vessel lies in its use, which either corrupts it or edifies it. That fire can raze does not mean it’s not ideal for cooking. These tech gadgets are the same. Same phone you can use to watch porn is the same you can use to stream tongues.
Welfare is a key doctrine of the Church. The Early Church in the Book of Acts championed welfarism for its members. In fact, deacons were specifically appointed because of these. These days, it’s been more of getting and getting from worshippers. Seeing churches catering for members during these trying times is encouraging. That was the essence of the church in the first place.
