VOTING WITH YOUR FEET

Recently I drove to the other side of the county to a discount garden and plant supply store to find flowers for my yard. The traffic was backed up for several blocks as drivers waited to be directed into the parking lot. And once out of the car and onto the premises, I was on high alert as people with shopping carts full of ferns and flowers darted in all directions. Some wore masks, some did not. All seemed in a good mood busily prepping for springtime. I took advantage of some fantastic deals on the very varieties of plants most tasty to the deer in my neighborhood. I also purchased eggplants and tomatoes, and left with a smile under my facemask.

I could not help but wonder how many of these hundreds of busy shoppers will not go to church because of fear of Covid? I heard long ago that we vote with our feet. We say a lot of things, debate and dicker and even get angry about stuff. But where our feet take us makes the loudest statement.

Covid certainly complicates things. And not everyone needs to come to church, or go to any other social gathering, at this time. If you have a higher susceptibility to the virus, if you are connected with others with a greater risk like the elderly or infants or those who are ill, then I certainly will not encourage you to gather in a building with a group of people- neither church nor Walmart. The key question to ask ourselves: How is love best served by where my feet take me concerning this matter?

However, if you go to Walmart and the supermarket and the restaurants and other places where groups gather…, then why not church? You wear a mask to the store, social distance at the eatery, slip in for the essentials and then quickly exit at the convenience store. We can do the same for church, IMHO (In My Humble Opinion!)

Please hear me clearly- I offer no criticism to anyone who has thought and prayed sincerely about the matter and decided, for health reasons, not to gather at church during these times. God has given to you the stewardship of your own health, and what you do with it is either honoring to him or a sin. I am offering an invitation to those who are now re-engaging in other matters and places. We are saving a seat for you.