Scott Tibbs
"Masking was a symbol of obedience..."
By Scott Tibbs, November 14, 2022
Mask mandates have fallen all over the country. But despite the fact that the mandates are almost completely gone, we are still seeing people arguing over the mandates, especially on social media. Masking was never effective, they say, so wearing a mask was a symbol of obedience. "They" are training us to blindly follow orders and do as we are told to make implementing tyranny easier.
Before we go further, we should not forget that COVID-19 was caused by a virus we had not seen in humans before and knew very little about when it hit in early 2020. We know much more now about what is and is not effective, and the harmful effects of lockdowns is now much more clear. (Though some of us were warning about an increase in "deaths of despair" in April 2020, and we have been proven right.) Much of the policy implemented in March and April of 2020
by both Democrats and Republicans was done in good faith and with the goal of saving lives.
So back to the claim that masking was a symbol of obedience: Yes, it was. Christians should submit to the civil authority that God has placed over us in obedience to Romans 13. Submission to the civil magistrates that have been delegated authority by God is ultimately submission to God. This means that if wearing a mask in public places is mandatory, then wear a mask. And no, this does not mean we should be "good Germans" and not object when Jews are loaded onto trains. Let's please have a sense of proportion.
Were some of the people advocating and implementing mask mandates doing it to condition citizens to obedience or because they were on a power trip? Sure. But the improper use of a thing does not negate its proper use. The government does have legitimate authority to implement policy to save lives during a pandemic. Very early on, when there was evidence that masking was helpful in combatting the spread of COVID-19, governors and local elected officials
in both political parties implemented mask mandates. This was, for the most part, done in good faith.
The issue I am hitting here is not the efficacy of masks or mask mandates in 2022. The issue is rebellion by Christians, who have sadly lost a Biblical doctrine of submission to authority. Remember when Jesus met the Roman centurion in Matthew 8:5-13, Jesus praised the soldier's faith after the soldier responded to Him with a clear understanding of His authority.
Rather than getting bent out of shape over wearing a mask, let's build up good will now so that we are ready when real tyranny comes and government starts trying to force us to choose between their laws and our faith. That is coming, and we know it because Jesus promised it in John 15:20.
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