Why The Coronavirus Hasn't Decimated My Worldview

The coronavirus has certainly brought on some heavy language. “Unprecedented” is one word that now gets used routinely. Among others, I do think it’s fair to say the virus has “gripped” the world. Limited to only doing certain activities, buying certain things, and communicating certain ways, we’re definitely within its grasp. However, what I’ve seen more of lately are people who seem to have had their worldviews absolutely shattered by the current state of affairs. “How could this happen!?” “This changes everything!” “We can never go back to normal!” They seem to be re-calibrating the entire direction of their lives. While there’s nothing wrong with self-check and we all share in this pain together and work together for resolution, I’d like to share with you why my worldview is generally unchanged.

History Holds No Surprises: One concept I’m seeing being discussed is the concept of “normal.” This discussion is coming from two different approaches. First, there are people who say that we can’t or won’t go back to normal. To me, this is stating the obvious. The evolution of humans may be up for debate but the evolution of societal technologies, communications, and practices is not. For thousands of years, change has been the only constant. The permanent changes may be small and may not be drastic, but there will be changes.

Second, there are people who say that we did not already exist in a “normal.” They say that greed, inequity, confusion, rage, hate, lack and other things are not normal. They act as if we currently exist in levels of greed, hatred, inequity, and depravity that the world has never seen. Unfortunately, the Bible and secular history show this to be factually inaccurate. These scenarios have played out en masse since the dawn of time. Current society is not morally distant from our historical counterparts, and we won’t be post-coronavirus.

No Illusion of Control: Thankfully, much of our society has had good history teachers. They taught us about the impact that one person can have and taught us to drive change in the world. However, this also drives our need for control, our insatiable desire to “fix” everything (now). So, when we are faced with an invisible enemy and have to accept that our role in driving change may be relatively minor, this concept is foreign to us.

In the Christian worldview this is the norm. For starters, our enemy has always been invisible and is always nearby. We are used to having to confront what we can’t see and may not understand. Secondly, in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), we know that our role is not always that of the leader. We know that while in some situations God may use us as the mouthpiece, in some we will only be a toe or an ear or a hair on the head. But we also know that he has numbered and counted each of those hairs.

Preparedness: People are transactional, results-oriented beings centered around if/then thinking. Our focus is that “if we just solve X, then we’ll have it right!” or “if I just get X, then I’ll be happy!” So, when major obstacles like the virus come along, they force us to question everything. “Never mind focusing on X, from now on society needs to focus on Y,” or “Ugh, now it’s going to take me this much longer to get to X.”

However, the Christian worldview remains steady, because it's never intended to void trouble. In fact, in John 16:33 Jesus guarantees “In this world you will have trouble.” Since our “X,” Christ, was never meant to void trouble, we expect it. We expect it at any time and in all shapes and sizes, and we prepare for it. In the middle of the storm we take shelter in the fortress and when the sun comes out, we build it up higher knowing that another storm is somewhere in the distance. And our “X”? As Jesus continues on: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Our “X” isn’t something to be “solved.” Our “X” isn’t something to achieve that’s hindered by this latest obstacle. Our “X” is here and available in abundance; yesterday, today, and forever.

So why doesn’t the Christian worldview shatter when trouble like the coronavirus comes? It’s not because it ignores the trouble. It’s not because it’s selfishly focused and lacks empathy; quite the opposite is true.  It’s not because it’s given up on a solution; we're actually very well-suited to help. The worldview stays intact because it has been expecting trouble, and has been preparing for it all along.