Fear of death, fear of virus and just like that, we give
the government power over us. Power bordering on martial law; to lock us in our
houses; close our schools, keep us from working. We whisper, “It could never
happen here,” as the Mayor of New York says he will permanently close houses of
worship if they don’t comply with social distancing. Or consider this headline
from the New York Times, "Pandemic Tempts Leaders to Seize Sweeping
Powers." Where’s the line? Do I make a stand? Corona’s got me thinking
conscience.
Time to hammer out a rubric for acts of conscience. What actions
require a response? Do I engage in civil disobedience? If so, when? The
overarching biblical principal is that ‘every person is to be in subjection to
the governing authorities.’ In most issues I obey the law. I protest but I
don’t break it. Yet there are distinct situations where I defy.
These are the summits I stand on, the hills I’ll die on.
This past December Wang YI, head of one of China’s largest unregistered
churches was sentenced to nine years in prison. The crime, in his words, “The goal of disobedience is not to change the world but to testify about another
world…The Bible teaches us that, in all matters relating to the gospel and
human conscience, we must obey God and not men. For this reason, spiritual
disobedience and bodily suffering are both ways we testify to another eternal
world and to another glorious King.” Men may make God illegal but there are
higher laws.
Every person is created in the image of God. This makes all
humans valuable and gives value to those considered “less than valuable
(including the unborn).” If a law encroaches on their life, liberty or pursuit
of happiness it is a bad law. In such cases breaking the law to save another; or
to make a point is a good thing. “An unjust law is a human law that is not
rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality
is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”
These are the parameters which guide my steps. Your guidelines may end up different. To often we make determinations
based on fear and feeling. This is a good season for thinking through what you believe.
What’s my grid? We’re inside now. Is there a time to step out, step in, step
up?
