WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: All This Mess

     The politicians of New York are all screaming at each other. The state governor is mad at the mayor of New York City and the President is mad at both of them. Political punches are being thrown and feelings are getting hurt.
     In fact, all across this great nation of ours, patience is wearing thin. People are tired of the Coronavirus robbing them of their "normal" lives. Even in my beloved state of North Carolina, the governor- like the one in New York- is threatening not only to halt the movement to the next phase of reopening the economy, but is considering taking a step or two backwards. The reason? Coronavirus is making a comeback. Like Jimmy Buffett at one point in his career, everybody thought CoVid-19 was a thing of the past. But both have returned- one to top the music charts and the other to being the lead story on the nightly news.
     Recently I was in a Wal-Mart with my wife. The store was jam packed with customers. It seemed to me the only people wearing masks were me, my wife, and the employees- and some of them had it pulled down below their noses. And as I've mentioned before, people look at you like you've got the virus if you have on a mask.
     At one point back in the drink section, a sweet older lady asked me if I would be so kind as to reach for a case of Dr. Pepper for her. Sure that she had noticed I was wearing a mask, I said- "Don't worry, I may be wearing a mask but I don't have the virus." Without hesitation she replied,"Oh, I don't believe in all that mess anyway."
     On the ride home I got to thinking. Does not believing in something make it not true? Does denying something exists make it go away? Can we discard undesirables and have them vanish just because we're tired of dealing with them like we do when we take our trash to the dump? 
     I don't think so.
     Toward the end of March, the United States and South Korea both had pretty much the same number of deaths due to CoVid-19. Now, the USA has over 100,000 deaths and South Korea has less than 300 (verified by World Health Organization statistics). The difference, according to the experts? Masks. Some other factors as well, but mainly masks. Said Paul Choi, a Korean health consultant- "Citizens have taken it upon ourselves to stay inside. We're very careful to wash our hands and keep our distance. Almost everybody is wearing masks. If you don't wear masks, you get looks on the street."
     The Bible says in several places that the Pharisees of Jesus' day rejected him and refused to believe the truth that he was the Son of God. In John 8:13 they tell him his "testimony is untrue". It seems obvious the main reason they refused to believe in the truth of what Jesus was saying was because it was a threat to them and their way of life. But refusing to believe Jesus was the Messiah did not make him any less of a Savior. Indeed he was the true Son of God, regardless of what they believed.
     I'm as tired of the Coronavirus as everyone else is. I'm ready to get out and watch a ballgame. I'm ready to have a meal inside a restaurant. I'm ready to high five or hug a stranger. (Okay, that would be weird but you know what I mean).
     The truth is I'm willing to wear a mask if the health officials tell me it will help slow down the Coronavirus. Apparently in South Korea it has helped tremendously, whether I believe it works or not. So I'll put my mask on and deal with the annoyance. It may be an inconvenient truth, but it's one I'm willing to embrace if it will shorten this pesky virus by even one day. I'm tired of all this mess.