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(Image courtesy of www.npr.org.) |
Perhaps what is the most dangerous threat in regards to the many mandates today due to Covid is fear. To say it succinctly: Fear, not disease, is the greatest threat we face in 2020. The fear of God, of course, is a good thing, but we are fearing (placing a greater emphasis on) the wrong things: disease, death, and others.
Our consciences are fragile things. The apostle Paul says that our consciences are constantly approving of the good that what we do or accusing us of the wrong that we do. Each person's conscience is influenced throughout one's life. Regardless, God has given all human beings a conscience to distinguish between right and wrong. It is the first restraint given by God after the fall against sin: humans have an innate knowledge of moral right and wrong.
But I want to return to the idea that each person's conscience is influenced by various ideas throughout one's life, and it can change. I'll get right to the point: I have found my conscience accusing me of things that it previously did not because of the various mandates surrounding Covid, specifically in regards to the various and sometimes conflicting scientific findings on the effectiveness of masks and the spreading of the disease.