Stay away from every kind of evil.  1 Thessalonians 5:22 HCSB

For those of us who consider ourselves to be highly sociable, we are entering a new realm these days. We are under orders to stay at home whenever possible. We are to avoid contact with others as much as possible.

People are all over the spectrum on this. Some people are totally panicked over this. Some are not taking it seriously at all and seem to be oblivious. While others fall somewhere in between.

The bottom line is this, this is a pandemic, which is defined as a disease prevalent over a whole country or the world. This is over the entire world. I’ve said it before and it bears saying again, we should be cautious and do all we can to stay away from this but we should not be fearful. God’s got this.

You would literally have to be living under a rock right now to not know what is going on with this situation. Anyone who allows someone infected with COVID-19 to get into their personal space is not acting wisely, right? But, the biggest danger with this virus is that someone could have it and not even know it. They may not exhibit symptoms or at least not right away. That’s what’s scary. You can’t look at someone and tell if they have it or if they are carrying it. They could transmit it to you before you or they even knew that they had it.

But as Christians being around someone infected with sin and unrighteousness is different. Oh someone may profess to be a Christian, but it is fairly easy to “inspect the fruit” as our former pastor used to say. How they talk and how they treat others usually gives it away fairly quickly.

Now as a good Christian, you may want to share the gospel with that person and attempt to help them establish a loving relationship with your Lord and Savior. This is a good thing, but be very careful. You see sinful living is as contagious as the Coronavirus or COVID-19. It can get ahold of you before you know what is happening. You can become infected and it can literally cause death. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Many people fear this virus because they are afraid of dying. Matthew 10:28 tells us to not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but to fear the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell. When I die whether it is from an illness, a tragic accident, or old age it will be at the time that God has chosen to call me home. But it will be a good thing for me because I will be spending eternity in glory with God the Father. Can you say the same? Are you sure about where you are headed when this life is over?

Are you busy avoiding this virus, but not being careful to avoid sinful behavior? You should treat both like the plague that they are. If you are around someone who is lost in sin, try to teach them God’s word. But the Bible tells us that if they reject this, that we are to move on, “shake the dust from your feet” (Mark 6:11). Get away, stay away, move on. If we stick around, they will just drag us down to their way of thinking and this can be fatal for us and them. If we move on we can pray that we have planted a seed and someone else will come along and water it.

We keep our bodies physically safe by doing all we can to avoid becoming infected with this virus. We keep our souls safe to do all we can to avoid being infected by sin. The best thing we can do is stay away from it. The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:6 that if we walk by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Ask God daily to fill you with His Holy Spirit. Keep His commandments. We are told in John 14:15 that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.

If you want to be safe, run from sin and to God. 2 Timothy 2:22 tells us to flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Run from those who practice unrighteousness. As Christians, we are given wisdom and discernment. Use this to avoid evil.

Have a great day!