Wearing masks seems like a silly thing to fight about, and yet here we are, with battle lines drawn, and attempts to shame the non-compliant through modern-day show trials.
As I posted elsewhere, wearing a mask does not make you a paragon of moral virtue. Get down off of your high horse. De-inflate your head.
Refusing to wear a mask doesn’t make you Patrick Henry. You are not actually rebelling against anything of consequence. It is rebellion cosplay.
When it comes to actual government mandates to wear masks, we get another factor altogether. Christians have a duty before God to honor those in authority and be submissive to them, and honest Christians can disagree on how far that is taken before we must “obey God rather than men.”
Personally, to draw the line at wearing masks seems a bit melodramatic. To choose this particular hill to make a stand, after all of the other abuses to which we have been subjected, feels like planting a flag in the playground sandbox. Sort of noble in its own way, I suppose, but it’s still just the playground sandbox, and sooner or later, you have to go home. It has all the gravitas of a two-year old pushing away his broccoli in disgust.
If it means some of my favorite businesses can stay open without persecution, I’ll play my part in the theater production. I just wish he had started with a mask mandate before we attempted our best impression of a post-apocalyptic movie.
But again, honest people can disagree on this issue. Below are some points and counterpoints for your perusal.
7 Reasons for Unmasking the Masks – If you are looking for justification on this point, you’ll probably find one in here. Doug Wilson writes with entertaining punch and bite, as usual.
COVID-19 Schismatics and COVID-19 and the Christian Conscience offer relevant counterpoints.
And finally, thoughts about Congregational Worship, Social Distancing, Submission to Caesar, and Obedience to God for a call to charity, to not judge those who abstain, and to not disparage or look down on those who decide to cover their face.
In terms of local church policy on whether masks should be a requirement, follow your elders. Period.
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash