Faith, Fear, And Folly During A Pandemic

by Shane Scott

“And our enemies said, ‘They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.’ And it came about when the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, ‘They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,’ then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: ‘Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.’ And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work” (Nehemiah 4:11-15).

Faith primarily refers to our trust in God. It is a response to and a product of God’s faithfulness. This trust in God’s trustworthiness fortifies our heart to remain faithful even when we have reasons to be afraid. But faith is not to be confused with folly, with reckless abandon, with a presumption that no matter how foolish our actions may be, so long as we have faith, God will protect us. That has more in common with Satan’s twisted version of faith expressed in the temptation of Christ (“if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down”) than it does with genuine trust.

But how do we determine when faith becomes folly, or when what seems to be prudence is really thinly disguised fear? These are not easy questions to answer – even in the best of times. And they are doubly difficult to answer in the midst of the stress of a deadly pandemic. In such a time we should steer away from simplistic answers that tend to press complex questions into crude caricatures of faith, fear, and folly.

The people of Jerusalem faced multiple crises in the time of Nehemiah. The city walls were in ruins, and in that time a city without walls was a city without security. The massive project to rebuild the walls presented a crushing burden to those few Jews who were committed to the task. This task was made almost impossible by the threat of violence from Israel’s enemies, a threat taken so seriously by the Jews in the countryside that they insisted their countrymen abandon the work and come home.

There was every reason for the Jews in Jerusalem to be afraid of these adversaries, which is why Nehemiah exhorted, “Do not be afraid of them.” And the key to managing this fear was faith – “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.” But notice that this faith in God did not absolve the people from taking steps to secure their own safety. Nehemiah stationed armed guards at the most vulnerable points of the wall, “with their swords, their spears, and their bows,” and charged them to fight for their families. The faith of the people prompted them to faithfulness as they took up arms to defend their city.

So, how was the city saved? By faith in God’s power, or by taking up weapons and standing guard? The answer is – YES. As the text explains, the enemy realized that “God had frustrated their plan.” GOD frustrated it, but he did so working through Nehemiah and the people.

Suppose that upon hearing the threats of their hostile neighbors, Nehemiah had told the people, “God brought us here and promised us success. So, don’t worry about defending yourselves. Just keep right on working, and trust God to protect us.” Faith or folly? The answer is obvious.

Faith trusts that God is at work. But faith also recognizes that God often works through people. God provides our daily bread through our labor (Matthew 6:11; II Thessalonians 3:10). God heals the sick through the prayer of elders and the anointing of oil (James 5:14-15). God comforts us through our brothers (II Corinthians 7:6). God works through creation. He “waters the mountains” and causes “the grass to grow” and feeds the “young lions” through the natural processes which he made and governs (Psalms 104:13-14, 21). Creation receives its existence and energy from God, so its power is secondary while God’s is primary.

As my wife fought against cancer, we prayed fervently for God to heal her. We also met with oncologists to arrange for radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery – and we did so precisely because we were praying for God to heal her. We knew that God heals, but we also knew that one way he heals is through medicine. His power isn’t limited to medicine, but it is surely at work in medicine. To ignore God’s use of secondary causes is like asking whether Hezekiah was healed by God or by the cake of figs applied to his boil (Isaiah 38:21). For people of faith, the answer is YES.

These same principles are true when it comes to the COVID-19 virus. Relying on God’s protection against the virus includes taking steps like wearing a mask to prevent inadvertently spreading it, and receiving a vaccine to keep from getting it, and receiving medical treatment while having it. Such measures reflect the consistent and abundant biblical testimony that God works through people and nature to bring about his purposes. We work because we trust that God works (Philippians 2:12-13).

Above all, we trust in God’s promises that this body, this creation, and this life, are not all there is. Through the death and resurrection of Christ we have the hope of a resurrected body, a new heavens and earth, and eternal life. This is why the apostle Paul could pray in view of his impending death, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (II Timothy 4:18). Paul knew that his death was inevitable, but it was not final. And the same is true for us as we face the reality of a deadly pandemic. Many of us have already lost brothers and sisters in Christ to this virus, and while we sorrow, we also rejoice in view of our hope. That is faith.

At the same time, while Paul did not waver in his faith when death was unavoidable, he nevertheless frequently evaded death when it was possible, from escaping in a basket let down over a wall (Acts 9:25) to laying low in Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30) to appealing to Caesar (Acts 25:11-12). In the course of his life Paul willingly suffered more than we can imagine (II Corinthians 11:23-28), but there were also times when he sidestepped grave harm. And I could make the same point about churches. When Saul instigated his persecution of Christians in Acts 8, the entire Jerusalem church save for the apostles fled the city (Acts 8:1). And as their evangelistic efforts around Judea, Samaria, and beyond testified, this wasn’t because of faltering faith. As they scattered, they spread the word (Acts 8:4), but they did so fleeing for their lives. Living out our faith in an uncertain world means making tough judgment calls that navigate between faithlessness on one extreme and foolishness on the other. For Paul, sometimes this meant nearly being murdered – and returning to the same city a short time later (Acts 14:19-22). Other times it meant escaping at night with an armed guard (Acts 23:21-31). On the surface these look like diametrically opposite choices. But, these choices reflected Paul’s best judgment in pursuit of a single purpose – faithfulness to God’s mission.

The great diversity in Paul’s responses to potential danger suggests that there is not a “one size fits all” approach for people of faith in dangerous circumstances. While it is simple to caricature those who are more cautious as faithless, or those who are less cautious as foolish, reality is much more complicated. Paul made his best judgment as he sought to be faithful to God, and so must we.

Most Christians I know agree that faith in God’s protection is not mutually exclusive with taking precautions, just as Nehemiah and the people took extreme measures while at the same time trusting in God’s protection. By the same principle, lots of churches arrange for security from law enforcement and/or trained members. This doesn’t reflect a lack of faith; it displays a desire to be faithful to protect the flock.

Likewise, most Christians I know agree that sometimes it is not safe for Christians to try to assemble. The leaders of every church I’ve been a part of have at times cancelled, postponed, or abbreviated the assemblies when weather-related events such as ice storms or hurricanes made it physically dangerous to gather. These decisions were never taken lightly, but sometimes they were necessary in balancing faithfulness against foolishness.

In principle then, this virus is nothing new in its demand for taking precautions – especially when it comes to our assemblies. What is unprecedented is the ongoing nature of it. Nehemiah’s wall was finished in 52 days! (Nehemiah 6:15). Ice storms and hurricanes last only a short while. But we are a year into this pandemic. It has understandably tested the collective patience of all of us.

But if we disagree with each other, it is not because of faithlessness or foolishness; it is because we are making different (and difficult) judgments about the relative scale of danger involved. In such matters of judgment, above all else, charity toward one another should prevail.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:13-15).

Perhaps your judgment puts you on the less cautious end of the spectrum in responding to the virus. Resist the temptation to assume that those who disagree with you just don’t have enough faith. Perhaps your judgment puts you on the more cautious end of the spectrum. Resist the temptation to assume that those who disagree with you are foolish and presumptuous. Instead, “decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” (Romans 14:13); “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19); and “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).