[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_element_image _id=”5″ ][/cs_element_column][/cs_element_row][cs_element_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_gap _id=”8″ ][cs_element_headline _id=”9″ ][cs_element_gap _id=”10″ ][cs_element_text _id=”11″ ][/cs_element_column][/cs_element_row][cs_element_row _id=”12″ ][cs_element_column _id=”13″ ][cs_element_gap _id=”14″ ][cs_element_headline _id=”15″ ][cs_element_gap _id=”16″ ][cs_element_text _id=”17″ ][/cs_element_column][/cs_element_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content][cs_content_seo]I love watching apocalyptic movies. The kind where the planet is inches from being destroyed by a meteor, taken over by aliens, or killed in a massive pandemic. They are all seeming strangely surreal right now.
2012, the apocalyptic movie in which the Earths core pretty much blows up, was free on Hulu the other day so I clicked. In the movie the government had months of warning… but didn’t quite get the memo out to everyone else. There was chaos (and lots of death).
While there is a lot of chaos right now due to Covid-19, our government and healthcare system has banded together to keep us out of harms way. Making the tough call, many of us are now forced to stay at home in order to protect our most vulnerable.
This is extremely important to me because I am one of those most vulnerable. The last time I had a tetanus shot, I felt like I was straight up going to die. Even a minor cold can knock me out for days. So, please, stay at home.
And don’t forget the moral of all those apocalyptic movies: Hope for a better future.
5 Lessons to Learn from Coronavirus
As we work through the coronavirus, it is important to remember that this is but a small moment in our lives. What happens now will define the rest of our lives, but it can’t control it. I encourage you to use the extra margin in your life to reflect on what matters. Here are some lessons I have been thinking about.
1. Our Families are Our Biggest Investments
With everyone else staying at home, many of us are spending more time with our families. For some this means more than passing by each other on the way to work. Parents are being forced to homeschool their children for the first time.
Way back, people mostly lived on farms. They were constantly surrounded by their family, struggling and accomplishing things together. Maybe this is part of the reason the divorce rate was lower- couples collaborated for their greater good. Lives were so intertwined that you couldn’t see living without each other.
While forcefully, we have created the availability to enjoy moments with each other. Take the time to play a board game or grow a garden together.
2. Flexible Work Schedules
Many people have been sent the availability to work from home. Last night, we even had our first virtual martial arts class. We are all blessed to live in a time when the technology was already in place to support this.
As we sit at home doing our best to get work done, our workforce is forcibly being changed into a virtual one. This openes up a whole new possibility in the definition of ‘work’. For people who are disabled like me and can’t always make it to an office, this expands accessibility. Reducing travel time means we have more time to do important things (like exercise!), which will lead to a happier, more productive workforce.
It is very probable that companies will see a reduction in overhead (reduced utilities for unused buildings) and will continue the work at home option in the future. I can even see workers demanding it from larger companies. As we redefine what the office looks like, we will transition to one that empowers all stakeholders.
3. Dave Ramsey had it Right
Unfortunately, many of our most vulnerable workers have been laid off during this hard time. While the government stimulus will help, it won’t be enough. In a country where most workers don’t have any savings, this recession will have implications for years on some families.
Our church introduced me to Finacial Peace University by Dave Ramsey years ago. He walks people through getting out of debt and saving for 3-6 months of emergency savings. This is very contradictory to what the banks teach- because they make so much off of the interest. Did you know that hundreds of years ago no one could go to the bank and get money. Guess what they all used? Cash. As a society we have embraced debt because it allows us to buy things before we have earned them.
Many Americans are finding out right now what happens when you can no longer earn that money you promised to pay. As a society, it is time to worry about where to put our money in the long term.
4. We Need Healthcare for All
Many people without essential jobs are being furloughed. While necessary, these workers could be in trouble when they do get sick. I talked to my sister the other day and it takes 2/3rds of her unemployment to pay for their families medical insurance! Talk about ridiculous. Basically, she is making pennies on the dollar to protect her family from a very real threat.
In a country where we are so blessed and privileged, its hard to imagine the very visceral fear that people are feeling when it comes to health insurance right now. A huge percentage of bankruptcies already come from medical bills, now invision what will happen when someone uninsured is on the ventilator for two weeks? That’s two weeks of ICU bills – not to mention the all the supplies. What do you think their only recourse will be? Bankruptcy.
Now is the time when economically a nationwide healthcare plan would greatly benefit. We are way past due. Let’s not wait until the next disaster.
5. It’s Time For a Revival
People are panic buying guns, afraid of what will happen to them when the food runs out. A guy from church said he had an elderly woman in tears when he got her toilet paper of the self. What is all the fear for?
Sure, there might be a lot of uncertainty in life right now. But as long as we rely on God to take us through our days and embrace His spirit of generosity, we can all come out of this crisis healthier than we went into it. We can develop the kind of community that will uplift instead of putting each other down. Now is the time to share the gospel, the good news that Jesus came to die for each of us.
Covid-19 is all you see on the news right now, but each day I hear amazing stories of people helping each other. Let’s not fear what will come tomorrow, but instead embrace what we will be able to do tomorrow.
The Covid Moral
It is time to wake up, America. We shouldn’t have waited until a time of national crisis to do it, but now is the time. Let’s create a better world. A world where we don’t knock over each other to get what we want, but instead push each other to new heights. Our kids will thank us for it.
I am participating in #staywrimo this April and writing 22 blogposts (I need my weekends!). This is post 1 of 22. Next
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