Love is the greatest attribute of the Christian faith. Christ tells us in Matthew 22:37 that loving God and loving our neighbors are the greatest commandments, and the Apostle Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians that even if we are endowed with spiritual gifts, nothing matters unless we show love. When asked about the difference between His followers and nonbelievers, our Lord responded that we shall be known by the way we love others (John 13:35). Christians follow their highest calling when serving and loving.
That can be an easy task when going about our daily lives. It has become a trend to pay for the food of the person behind you while in a drive-through restaurant, and if money is an issue, then just delivering a home-cooked meal to a suffering family is enough. We show love through hugs, through bedtime stories, through appearances at basketball games and visits to nursing homes or money in an offering plate.
Now that a virus is spreading, we are more apt to stay at home, keep our wallets close and our toilet paper closer.
Being trapped in quarantine for COVID-19 might sound like we have no chances to share our faith with others. On the contrary, this new platform gives us an even more powerful chance to show the truest, most selfless love to our neighbors.
Of course, we are all scared. When a global tragedy suddenly interrupts our lives, our first instinct is to look out for ourselves. That is perfectly natural—God programmed our brains to flee and search for necessities so we can survive. But as we are all shut up in our homes for now, tensions high and anger thick, it can be easy to forget the greatest commandment.
There are so many ways in which we can love our neighbors during this time of sickness. While socializing is discouraged and groups of ten or more should not meet (per federal guidelines), we cannot show love through embraces and enthusiastic handshakes for the time being. Instead, here are some ways you can show love to those around you.
Monetary need is an obvious choice, but it is more than just rounding up 10 percent in a tithing envelope. While you are panic-buying toilet paper at the nearest grocery store, consider all the homeless shelters, women’s centers and youth homes that are in dire need of essential supplies. These ministries are already under strain any other time of the year, but now is a particularly hard time for them, as their clients are under increased risk. If you are staying away from all public stores, consider donating to churches partnering with such ministries or donate to your trusted local charity. If you are trekking out to buy supplies, consider throwing in a couple of cans of green beans or soup for a shelter near you. Even toilet paper—a hot commodity thanks to the needlessly paranoid people who buy out entire shelves—is needed more than ever. Though you should take care of yourself, you need to remember that now is a time to show love: do not buy more than you need unless you are planning to donate some of it.
Emotional need is not a first response to a pandemic, but isolation can kill moral rates. Even if you are with your loved ones, staying in one house or apartment all day can be mentally and emotionally trying. Whether you’re working, taking online classes, or doing all of the above while suddenly homeschooling your children, you have to know the importance of taking breaks and breaking up monotony. To keep up your spirits, devote your time to reading God’s Word and meditating with Him. You can also read uplifting stories from websites such as goodnewsnetwork.org and this tab from Fox News. Spend time with your loved ones, do some chores you have been procrastinating on and even treat yourself to a sleep-in morning if your job allows it. Remember to keep looking on the bright side, even when things look pretty down.
Finally, physical need is another obvious way we can show love to our neighbors, though in an unconventional way. Donations and feel-good stories are essential in this time of crisis, but the best way we can love our neighbors is by staying home away from others. If you think you cannot get sick, that is your uninformed and, frankly, incorrect opinion. But do not go out there when you could very well pass on the germs to someone else. The elderly and immunocompromised are the obvious early victims, but now even healthy teenagers in France and California are catching and dying from the coronavirus. The safest choice, for yourself and everyone around you, is to stay home and wash your hands. Stay healthy, of course—go for a solo jog, walk your dog, do some yoga while sitting on your porch in the sunlight—but do it alone. The best way to love our neighbors is to protect them from something you might even unknowingly carry.
Though these are scary times, I am thankful that we can rely on a God who is bigger than all of this. In living out our faith as Christians we are commanded to show love to everyone around us, and what better way to fulfill that commission than through meeting monetary, emotional and physical needs?
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