Some more articles:
I don’t like wearing face masks. They fog up my sunglasses and make my beard itch. It’s hard to talk intelligibly through them and nearly impossible to pick up nonverbal facial expressions that add vital texture to conversation. I have a growing collection of masks, but none of them fits great, I don’t know where to store them, and even the most stylish ones are still pretty awkward. Masks also make it impossible to forget the depressing reality that COVID-19 is still around; they’re an ever-present reminder that the world we knew in February is long gone.
I also hate that the mask has become such a divisive political symbol, with the masked and the masked-nots assuming the worst about each other: that mask-wearers are fearful, cosmopolitan elites or that mask-avoiders are science-hating MAGA bumpkins who prefer their freedom over Grandma’s life. It’s silly that it’s come to this: politicizing masks. But I’m not surprised. Everything in our world today is politicized: ice cream, razors, Harry Potter. So of course protective face masks would be politicized, especially when the president himself makes masks political.
I understand, however, why we so quickly politicize things like masks. Faced with an avalanche of information (too much to ever sufficiently wade through), conflicting voices of “expertise,” and no shortage of inconsistency and hypocrisy from government leaders, we default to siding with whatever partisan camp we’re already in. I suspect rising tribalism across the world has a lot to do with the mental exhaustion of living in a time of information gluttony, where it’s easier to just fall in line with one group or another. For most of us, independent, nuanced appraisal of a litany of complex issues is unrealistic for our already taxed brains.
For Christians, though, it’s important to rise above the political partisanship and think through what our
faith would call us to with regard to wearing or not wearing masks. What if our view on masks were shaped more by our Christian identity than our American political identity? As much as I dislike wearing masks, sympathize with some skepticism about them, and cringe at attempts to shame people into wearing them, my Christian faith leads me to wear one when I’m in indoor public places. When I look at Scripture I don’t see a
mandate about masks, of course, but I see an invitation—to do at least four things.
1. To Love Your Neighbor (Matt. 22:39)
I’m frustrated that the science on masks during COVID-19 has been inconsistent. It’s maddening that everyone from the U.S. surgeon general to the CDC and the WHO have flip-flopped on their mask guidance. But it’s not surprising. This is a brand-new virus and a fast-moving crisis. We probably won’t know for years what was right and wrong in our efforts to stop COVID-19. But consensus is emerging that wearing masks does slow the virus’s spread and, thus, can save lives.
4 Reasons to Wear a Mask, Even if You Hate I
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On the way into the grocery store recently, I realized I’d forgotten my coronavirus mask. I was just going to be in and out quickly though, so I proceeded bare-faced. I live in a relatively small town, where it feels like everyone knows that I’m a physician. I’m sure it didn’t help that I was in scrubs, on my way to work, but I felt a lot of judgment behind the eyes of those with masks that day. My first instinct was to be irritated.
Don’t tell me how to live. This is a free country. I can go to the stupid grocery store without a mask if I want.
If social media is any indicator, masks are a controversial topic among Christians, some of whom feel very strongly that God will protect them from Covid-19. Being a Christian though, doesn’t insulate us from life’s trials. Covid-19 is just as contagious to Christians as nonbelievers and Christians will face the same mortality rate as everyone else. The coronavirus is real, and when this is all said and done, we will all know those who have died from it.
As an American Christian though, I’m tempted to see this as an issue of personal liberty, which I see as my God-given right.
Never mind that following my way has led me to profound misery, no one is going to tell me how to live. For me however, wearing a mask is no longer simply about my rights. It’s about loving my neighbor.
In my work, I’m regularly exposed to a very contagious virus that will cause significant misery if and when I share it with others. A scary percentage of those who carry – and transmit – the virus, don’t even know they have it. Sure, most people will recover (I’m not that worried about getting it myself) but that doesn’t mean it’s OK for me to spread the virus in the name of my personal freedom.
I’m not saying I want the government to tell me I have to wear a mask and I’m not saying that it’s a sin if you don’t wear one. I am saying that Jesus insisted that loving my neighbor often means personal sacrifice.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Do I believe Jesus? Do I truly follow him? If so, then maybe wearing a mask to the grocery store isn’t simply about my rights.
https://www.faithinthestruggle.com/2020/06/04/do-christians-need-to-wear-face-masks/
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- UPDATE 6/1: A systematic review and meta-analysis just published in the Lancet concludes, “Face mask use could result in a large reduction in risk of infection.”
- UPDATE 6/10: Another study led by Cambridge just published calling for “immediate and universal adoption of facemasks by the public.”
- UPDATE 6/13: All future updates on new studies will be found here.
Unfortunately, some (including Christians with a large social media following) are choosing to tell people to not wear masks, and they are sharing false and misleading information which I’ve detailed
here (but please finish reading this post first before linking there).
With the studies we have available now, the evidence is strongly supporting the use of a face covering to slow COVID-19. Still, one of the reasons I’ve heard Christians saying they don’t wear one is because “the science is divided.” This is simply not true. Sure there may be a few people out there still saying don’t wear a mask (some trying to sell books or get social media hits), but you wouldn’t call a 85-1 lead in the ninth inning a “close game.” Again, the evidence from the mounting studies show that masks slow COVID transmission. How significant is still up for discussion. But does it make a difference? The growing body of evidence we have says yes.
But suppose even IF the science were divided, wouldn’t the charitable thing to do still be to wear a mask? A lot of people are scared. Think about the message you’re sending to this group of people, many of whom are non-believers, people we are commanded to reach as part of the Great Commission. A large number of them are deeply concerned. It may be that they have underlying conditions. It may be that they take care of someone who does. It may be that they work in an environment where they are more exposed, but need to work to maintain an income. What should the Christian response be? Should we throw temper tantrums because we have to wear a mask in Home Depot because this is ‘Merica and we got rights? Should we post on social media about how those people are just a bunch of scared sissies? Should we offer excuses like “they can still get it in their eyes”? My heart breaks every time I see a Christian do or say these things. Do we not long for these people to share eternity with us? Why are we alienating them so and teaching them to think we lack compassion?
Keep in mind, largely the purpose of wearing masks is not to protect the wearer, but to protect others in case the wearer is an asymptomatic carrier (or is pre-symptomatic). This is an act of compassion. It’s not out of fear.
As followers of Christ, can we not live by His serving example? Is the mild inconvenience to our lives too much to ask? I’m not advocating that we need to be militant about it, or that there shouldn’t be exceptions for some for medical reasons. But those that can, let’s follow the CDC guidelines to wear a facial covering “in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.”
Wearing a face covering is simple. It’s loving. It’s Christlike.
I understand that we’re still learning on this. So, if the science changes, certainly we reevaluate, but right now, today, what’s the charitable, loving thing to do? As ambassadors of the King, how should we represent Him? I think the answer is clear.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:3-5, NIV)
Face Masks and the Christian
