Faithful in Little Things: Coronavir-US?

Typically on my weekly posts, I try to include historical perspective on today's headlines, or maybe vice versa.  A few weeks ago, I posted about the 1918-1920 Spanish Influenza epidemic when the Coronavirus was still only in China.  Strange how things can change in such a short time.

I've seen a number of posts about how Christians should respond.  We are not given "a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7), so we should keep our cool, restrain our conversation, and maintain a calm head.  Anxiousness should not define a Christian's response "be anxious for nothing" (Philippians 4:6), nor should we label it something that stirs a racist or angry response "a soft answers turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1).  All these deal with how we allow our spirits to respond to this situation.  But what about our actions?  We are called to "obey all those who have authority in this world because that will make the Lord happy." (1 Peter 2:13).  This should give us the parameters, the boundaries, for our actions during this time.

But there is another verse that I have been thinking about during this time, one spoken by Christ in Luke.  "He that is faithful in very little is also faithful in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10).  Why this?  Because as Christians, we are being called to be faithful in something very little.  We are being called to stay home.  Greater generations than ours were called to far greater things, far greater sacrifices.  While our current situation is no small thing, what we are being called to is indeed little.  I fear that in not being faithful, not obeying those in authority, that if and when bigger things come, we will be found wanting:  our disobedience, a result of our selfishness.

I have family members and friends engaged in the health care industry.  I have friends who are at risk.  By "not being faithful in very little", you put your own interests above theirs.  While that message applies to all, it should apply most to Christians.  If you are continuing to meet and gather together in groups of 10 or more, you are failing the most basic thing, the little, that is being asked of you.  And by doing that, God can't trust you with the big things.  If you are providing a forum for that to happen, thinking that it's up to the individual to make a decision of obedience, think again.  It would be like handing a drunk their car keys and hoping they don't kill anyone.  Honestly, if your judgement is that impaired, I can't trust you to do the right thing.  

When I served as county commissioner during the Flood of 2018, we asked the public's help by staying off the streets.  This was done for two reasons specifically.  It was done for their own safety, but it was also done for the safety of emergency responders.  We did not want selfish actions on your part to put our responders at greater risk.  We are being called to this today-your health may not be in jeopardy, but you may put others, exponentially, at risk.  And now, as more counties and states raise the level of emergency to essential travel only, the Christian response demands obedience.  Furthering the spread will only aggravate the health care system, potentially causing more deaths, and extending the situation where people are losing jobs.

The Christian response?  This is bigger than "us".  Stay home.  Be faithful in little, so that you can be trusted with much.