God created us to use wisdom in making decisions during critical times. The bible says in Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding”.
In 1527, less than 200 years after the ‘Black Death’ killed about half the population of Europe, the plague re-emerged in Martin Luther’s own town of Wittenberg and neighboring cities in Germany. In his letter “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague,” the famous reformer weighs the responsibilities of ordinary citizens during contagion. His advice serves as a practical guide for Christians confronting infectious disease outbreaks today.
He argued first that anyone who stands in a relationship of service to another has a vocational commitment not to flee. Those in ministry, he wrote, “must remain steadfast before the peril of death.” The sick and dying need a good shepherd who will strengthen and comfort them and administer the sacraments—lest they be denied the Eucharist before their passing etc.
But Martin Luther does not encourage his readers to expose themselves recklessly to danger. His letter constantly straddles two competing goods: honouring the sanctity of one’s own life, and honouring the sanctity of those in need. He makes it clear that God gives humans a tendency toward self-protection and trusts that they will take care of their bodies (Ephesians 5:29; 1 Corinthians 12:21–26).
We therefore welcome the directive by the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Even though the cases recorded so far are imported ones, we believe that proactive and timely measures are necessary to avoid any pandemic in our beloved Ghana.
As a Christian civil society organization, we believe that Christians must respect and abide by the directive of the President and exhibit lifestyles that will conform to the measures in dealing with the outbreak, and not replicate countries such as Italy, South Korea and lately Great Britain who underestimated the outbreak of the Covid-19 but have now had to do more to bring the pandemic under control.
For us, we think that this is an opportune time for Churches and Christians to reposition their mode of worshipping God. Churches if they have not must significantly embrace digital mode of transmitting the word of God to many members and non-members to make the hearing of the word of God easier. The bible says in Matthew 18:20 that “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” God blesses His children who abide by his word and have faith in him.
Christianity is not always about giving offering and tithes but spreading the word in a Godly manner to save the many who are perishing. Technology has indeed advanced the world. This is the time for us to adopt modern techniques via digital means to reach many Christians and non-Christians who are yearning to hear the word of Jesus Christ but have not gotten the opportunity.
Facebook live videos, skype, per-recorded videos sent via WhatsApp, YouTube live and Instagram can be adopted to propagate the gospel in these difficult times.
Daniel 11:32 which reads; “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits”.
Please, let’s all come together, exhibit the right practices and pray intercessory for God to forgive our sins and show us more love.
Shalom! God bless us all
Charles Yeboah
Coordinator
credit: Modernghana.com
