You should still be wearing a mask. You should still be wearing a mask, not just for you, but for your fellow human. For your neighbor who is obese and has type II diabetes; your friend who has their elderly parent living with them; your coworker who’s adorable rosy-cheeked child has an autoimmune disorder. You should still be wearing a mask. And I mean really wearing a mask – over the nose, covering the mouth, looped behind the ears - Come on now, friends.
The thing is, as a medical professional, I can tell you what you should be doing until I’m blue in the face. However, it is entirely your choice to take my advice or not. You have free will.
Humans tend to not do anything, unless it directly affects them. Because frankly it’s all about [insert your name here]. When it affects you, or someone you love, THEN you care.
Take a look around…
The person not wearing a mask at the grocery store, probably doesn’t have any family members in the medical field.
The white man rolling his eyes at another “Black Lives Matter” headline, probably has never experienced racial injustice.
The woman who drives past the prison on her way to work probably doesn’t think twice about the justice system because she’s never been arrested.
Of course these are sweeping generalizations I penned to make a point, but stay with me here.
The pandemic we’re experiencing in our society right now isn’t from a coronavirus, it’s from PRIDE. Coronavirus is weakening our immune systems, but pride is weakening our humanity.
All around me I see people putting their personal needs above the needs of others…
Not wearing a mask because the government can’t tell you what to do. PRIDE.
Not being anti-racist because you’re not a racist, so you’re all good. PRIDE.
Not reflecting on the world around you because your day to day hasn’t changed. PRIDE.
I’m not over here preaching from my soap box. I personally know just how insidious pride can be because I used to wear it like a badge of honor for years. YEARS. I used to be the BIGGEST vector for this virus. And I was asymptomatic! Outwardly, I was a decent human being, a productive member of society, who always tried to do the right thing, but my inner monologue was full of selfish ambition and personal pride. I lived my life genuinely thinking I was better than some people and that I deserved everything I achieved because I worked hard. Aggressive eye roll.
I didn’t even notice that that mentality was wrong until living such a selfish way lead me to becoming wildly unhappy, anxious, and depressed, and I finally had a “coming-to-Jesus.” Literally I came to Jesus in dire need of help. In that moment of anguish He said to me, “It’s not about you, it’s about your patients,” and it finally became so perfectly clear that my perspective was the problem. My pride was my problem.
Did I immediately start seeing things differently? Nope. Every day I slowly worked on changing my perspective, letting Jesus transform my thoughts. The change in my perspective changed my heart, and my change of heart changed my life. This change is STILL happening every day for me. That’s the thing about pride; it’s a sneaky sin. You have to mind your pride or it can creep up in you unnoticed.
Combatting pride is constant, daily work. THIS is the work that should be being done in our homes, amongst our friends, and in our communities right now. We should be having discussions about pride, superiority, and entitlement with each other and hard conversations with ourselves in the mirror about our internal dialogue.
You may have heard the sentiment lately that ‘to change the world we have to change our homes, to change our homes we have to change our hearts.’ Well, I want to take that one step further and say that to change our hearts, we have to change our perspectives. It’s not about you, it’s about every other human being.
Wearing a mask isn’t about you, it’s about protecting that person you pass in the grocery store. Educating yourself about racial injustice and systemic racism isn’t about you, it’s about helping your neighbor down the street. Taking inventory of yourself during this time of isolation isn’t about self-care for you, it’s about learning how to be a better member of the community, for the community.
We have a serious pride problem in this country. In this world.
Galatians 5:13 says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love” (NIV).
Serve one another HUMBLY in love.
You have free will. You’re free to make your own choices. But are you being a good steward of that free will? Are you indulging yourself or are you serving others humbly?
Wear your mask because it’s an act of serving one another humbly in love. Pick up a book by an author of a different race because understanding another’s perspective is an act of serving one another humbly in love. Have tough conversations in your home, with your parents, with your children, because it’s an act of serving one another humbly in love.
Mind your pride. Change your perspective. Nurse yourself.
