What can Christians do to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic?
“To be prepared for a potential pandemic does not mean we believe it is inevitable, rather, we believe the cost of not preparing is too high to contemplate. We don’t prepare just for ourselves; we prepare to survive to share the Hope of Jesus Christ with those in need – with those who are unprepared.” Please prepare as God calls you to pray, care and share. Pray – that Christians would prepare now as officials have warned so that they will be in a position to share the Hope of Christ effectively.
Care – for those around you by taking a few minutes to provide this urgent information on pandemic preparedness as well as how they may be kept informed.
Share – seek out those without the peace of faith so that should a crisis occur they too can know the foundation of Christ within that allows us to stand tall.
We can’t know whether what is feared will come, but we should be among those giving it serious thought in preparation, taking things like these into account:
Courage. Chances are that any one of us, or a family member, could be stricken, in the medium- to worst-case scenarios. Further, there may be widespread social and economic chaos, as people are unable or unwilling to be out among others. Fear of disease, death, or disruption should not be Christians’ prime motivators, however. God walks with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. This will be a time for seeking God’s peace, for trusting him even when faced with great fear or personal pain. The whole world will be tested. This will be a time to show God is real.
Compassion. A US ethics report speaks of “Health Workers’ duty to provide care during a communicable disease outbreak.” Health care is not all our neighbors will need, however. Prayer and caring will be as important, if not more so as health systems get overwhelmed. The tendency will be to isolate ourselves in fear, when in fact this could be our greatest opportunity to serve. Christians should prepare to take the lead in providing compassionate care among the afflicted. Churches ought to prepare the members to be ministers in such a difficult time.
Cooperation. On the other hand, if quarantines are imposed on homes or communities, Christians should be leaders in urging cooperation with instructions. Quarantines will not be popular in a world obsessed with civil liberties. Our support could make the difference. Meanwhile, as social service agencies prepare for avian flu, churches should be sitting at the table with them, asking, “How can we help?”
Sacrifice. If there are limited quantities of vaccines or Tamiflu, will we be first to try to claim them, or will we be first to let another be protected? How can we best support the needs of the poor and weak, not only in our own countries but worldwide?
Discretion. Some will probably be tempted to preach that a global pandemic is a fulfillment of prophecies in Revelation, a sign that the end is near. The same, however, could have been said (and undoubtedly was) of the plague in medieval Europe. Whatever comes, we should not jump to conclusions about what it means for the future of the world and the timing of Christ’s return. It’s always appropriate to warn people as Jesus did, to treat their own souls and destinies with great spiritual care. In the process, we ought to be careful not to say more than we know.
Let’s consider carefully the answers to these questions: If a major pandemic broke out, what would we want God to do for the frightened, the afflicted, and their family members? Then, if the church is indeed the body of Christ, will we let him do it through us?”
Why can’t these things apply to all good people? Why just christians? We try to keep religion off the board.
People could go to their own faith communities. The issues brought up under “Discretion” sure seem like every different group might tell their followers they “know” what a pandemic means. Has happened before.
Have communities seen: http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/faithcomchecklist.html
http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/pdf/SpanishFBChecklist.pdf
and, show people the current cfr and, through the next link, the graphs, as to ages.
http://www.fluwikie.com/pmwiki.php?n=Main.ConfirmedCasesUpdated
(Would this be where the stories like, about during seven good years need to prepare for the seven bad years, might come in handy?)
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