Coronavirus: Are You Distracted?

https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/coronavirus-are-you-distracted/

If there is one thing that I have repeatedly seen in recent months since I first began to closely follow the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that there are so many people on Facebook, as well as on the other social networks, who are concentrating on secondary issues which, in my view, are of little importance when compared to the main question, which I will get to in just a moment.

One clear example is the fact that some people are trying to use the current pandemic to make a political statement of one kind or another. I’ve seen COVID-19 used as a vehicle — or an excuse/platform — to criticize one political party or another, or one person or another, or to promote some particular conspiracy theory, or to fast track some personal agenda. To reiterate, so many of you — and by “you”, I am referring to my fellow Christians — are emphasizing and concentrating on the wrong things.

Quite frankly, I just don’t believe that all of these other things is what this pandemic is about at all. Thus, I have made a few attempts to help some of my brethren to redirect their efforts. Sadly, when I have tried to reason with them and set them straight, a few of them have deleted my comments, mocked me, unfriended me, and even blocked me. That is how set they are in their current misguided understanding regarding this pandemic.

While I have shared this point several times before — such as in my BBB Blog posts “Coronavirus: Be Still and Know That I Am God” and “Coronavirus: God Will Silence the Fools”, as well as in my three-part series entitled “Coronavirus: Just the Facts, Ma’am” — let me repeat it again for the benefit of those of my friends and readers who may not have read it in my previous releases.

As far as I am concerned, where COVID-19 originated and how it originated, or how certain parties — such as the mass media, alleged secret shadow governments, climate change activists, NWO globalists, etc. — are endeavoring to use this pandemic to their advantage, and to achieve their own objectives, are merely sideshows. They are red herrings which distract us Christians from the core question and the main message which we should actually be addressing. If the children of the world want to delve into all of these other things, let them. But as for us, we have a very different mission and calling, insofar as the coronavirus pandemic is concerned.

It is precisely this mission and calling which I personally have endeavored to concentrate on during recent months. So exactly what is the core question and main message which we should be endeavoring to keep before people’s minds as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep the world? It is precisely this: Why has God allowed this pestilence/plague to sweep the world? And it is indeed the world, because at latest count, 191 of the world’s nations have had confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as I point out in some of my previous published pieces. This, in my view, is the question that we need to place in people’s minds, and NOT the mechanics of how COVID-19 was introduced into the world, or who is trying to taking advantage of it, or any of the wild conspiracy theories that are floating around on the Internet.

My friends, the fact of the matter is that discussing all of this other questionable and unprovable stuff is NOT going to convince anyone to repent of their sins, and to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Trust me; I know what a rabbit hole all of that conspiracy theory nonsense is. Once you jump down that hole, it is very hard to get out again as you get wrapped up in so much confusion and delusion. Even now, some of my online friends are completely lost in it.

To reiterate, we need to tell people clearly and without fear, that just as occurred so many times in the Bible, this pandemic is God’s Wrath upon a wicked, sinful, rebellious, defiant world which has turned their backs on the Almighty, and willfully gone their own stubborn way. And they will pay the price for it too if they don’t repent. As a Bible-believing Christian, you should already know that God has repeatedly used droughts, famines, pestilences, invasion and war, and other things as tools of His chastisement down through the millennia. This is a point I discuss in some of the articles which are listed below. So we need to help people to understand that while God truly loves them, at the same time, just like a parent who becomes angry when their child commits some intentional act of rebellion, God is also angry with the world, and through this pandemic, He is trying to get their attention. He wants them to repent, and to be saved.

Now, if you are willing and prepared to take up this mission, then you also need to understand that you need to expect to take some heat, because some people — perhaps a lot of people — will not like, and won’t want to hear this message. They will rebel against it, because they want to continue living in their comfortable lives of sin. So make sure that you know how to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ — 2 Timothy 2:3.

Now, some people, including a few of my online friends, have tried to downplay the severity of the current pandemic. One of their biggest arguments has been that the negative effects of the current strain of the coronavirus — COVID-19 — are not nearly as bad as what occurs with the annual flu. They are absolutely correct. There is no comparison. When we discuss the annual flu, according to the CDC, millions of US citizens are taken ill every single year. Millions require medical visits. Hundreds of thousands of Americans require hospitalization, and dozens of thousands actually die from the flu. Again, this is in a single year. Obviously, we have not seen any of that with COVID-19.

But here’s the thing; and this is what, in my view, shows that God has His hand in the current pandemic. Despite its rather small signature compared to the annual flu, just look at how God has revealed His power, and used the COVID-19 pandemic to shut down the entire world. Let me tell you that I am in my late sixties, and I have never ever witnessed anything like this in my entire life. Global trade has been severely impacted. Entire nations and cities are shutting down. Universities and schools are shutting down. Public transportation is shutting down. Major public events such as political rallies, sports events, concerts, political primaries, dining out, movie-going, and so much more has all been shut down or heavily curtailed due to something which doesn’t even come close to the numbers associated with the annual flu. So while the coronavirus may seem small and insignificant to some people, and is even viewed as being a hoax by some people, nevertheless, God is still using it to get the attention of the entire world in a very big way; and that is something to think about. He has a message for the world, but are they getting it? The message is “Repent, and believe!”

Now, despite everything that I have said and written about COVID-19 in recent months, and despite everything that has happened in the world since December of 2019, to my amazement, there are still a lot of foolish people who even today remain convinced that it is not real. It is just a news media hoax they claim, or some other silly nonsense. To those of you who still feel this way, allow me to share the following with you:

I have had a dry chest cough and slight runny nose for the past three weeks. I probably got it when I went in for my monthly doctor’s appointment during the third week of last month. I won’t go into the details, being as I have talked about my personal medical situation in previous posts, but I have to do this every single month. At any rate, with the COVID-19 virus now being confirmed on our island, I was very concerned about having to go in for my appointment this month. After all, as I am sure most of us recognize, hospitals and clinics are ground zero for this thing. Thankfully, my FFP3 respirators — or face masks — arrived in the mail two days before my appointment, which was a great relief to me.

To continue, yesterday when I went in for my appointment, wearing my FFP3 respirator, I discovered that, as has been occurring in many other places around the world, they were checking everyone’s temperature at the door, and asking each of us if we had a cough or any other symptoms which might be indicative of the coronavirus. Because I do have a cough, unlike the other people, I was informed that I had to wait outside until I was called by my doctor. Once I had been seen by my doctor — who is a really nice fellow from the Philippines — once again I had to go back outside the building and wait until my prescriptions were ready.

That is how cautious they were all being. In fact, both my attending nurse and my doctor were wearing full protection, meaning a suit, gloves, mask, hair net and clear plastic shield in front of their face. In the years that I have been going to this particular clinic, I have never ever seen them do that. So tell me again that this is all just a news media hoax and that everyone is in on it, including my very own doctor. Right. I don’t think so.

The fact of the matter is that only six days ago we had zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our island. Now we have a total of 14 cases, the number is growing by the day, and the entire island has been placed under lockdown by order of our governor, just as is now also occurring in many other places around the world as well. Do you want to tell me again that this is all just a big hoax being perpetrated by some evil entities/puppet masters of your choosing?

For the record, I am high risk due to my age, and due to the fact that I have certain underlying medical conditions. Thankfully, my doctor prescribed me three month’s worth of my medications yesterday, so that other than going out for a few food necessities in a few weeks, I can remain isolated in my home until this pandemic passes, whenever that is. If what different US government and health officials are saying is accurate, then we probably won’t be in the clear for at least a few more months, if not longer.

So in conclusion, for me personally, this pandemic is real. It is very real. It is not just a hoax. In my view, anyone who believes otherwise — regardless of their age — is deceived, foolish and delusional. Furthermore, people who are refusing to practice social distancing need to consider the welfare of others, and not just their own happiness and well-being. Please respect the guidelines and practice social distancing; if not for your own sake, then for the sake of others who may be more vulnerable than you.

For those of you who may have possibly missed some of my previous coronavirus-related writings, following is a list of everything I have written to date regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that you will find a lot of useful, factual, instructive and Scriptural information in this material. Please feel free to share this list on your own timelines, pages, in your Facebook groups, and on any other social networks where you happen to participate. Thank you so very much, and God bless you!

Bill’s Bible Basics Coronavirus Information Center:

Bill’s Bible Basics Coronavirus Information Center

Bill’s Bible Basics Articles:

BBB Article: “Coronavirus: Just the Facts, Ma’am”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/coronavirus-1.html

BBB Article: “COVID-19, Financial Assistance and Christian Love”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/covid-19-financial-assistance-christian-love-1.html

BBB Article: “Coronavirus: Defiant Christians, Stay Home!”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/coronavirus-defiant-christians-stay-home-1.html

BBB Article: “COVID-19: Exposure Logging and Contact Tracing: Is It Safe?”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/COVID-19-ExposureLogging-ContactTracing-1.html

Bill’s Bible Basics Blog Posts: