Consider the following impacts:
1. Economic
Federally, a $400 billion this year will have long term negative consequences for all Canadians. Locally, many businesses have been forced to closed. Of course, there are always winners and losers but businesses should rise or fall on their own merits rather than be forced into closure due to government decisions.
It can be argued that such losses are acceptable given the many who have died with COVID. But the developing world has suffered much more.
It is estimated that our response to COVID will put more than 70 million people into extreme poverty. The World Bank, which tracks global poverty, says, “Under the baseline scenario we estimate that COVID-19 will push 71 million into extreme poverty , measured at the international poverty line of $1.90 per day. With the downside scenario, this increases to 100 million.”
In our city, lockdowns are having negative impacts. In developing countries, lockdowns are devastating to human life. Almost twice the population of Canada will be forced into extreme poverty! Millions of people with no ability to work online or receive government support. It must also be remembered that in these countries, they generally have a lower risk of severe outcomes from COVID as their populations are much younger.
One UN article sums it up: “The effects of the pandemic have devastated the most vulnerable and left them further behind.”
Don’t misunderstand me. Economic impact is not just dollars and cents. It is about the wellbeing of millions of people that have been adversely affected, not by a virus, but by government lockdowns lasting month after month. Lockdowns have done severe damage to the livelihoods of many more than COVID would. The poor suffer the most with an increase in starvation, disease, human trafficking and slavery, violence, crime, and other abuses. Many lives—the most vulnerable lives—jeopardized because of government lockdowns.
2. Education and Future Prospects
It is clear that educational institutions have been disrupted here in Canada and around the world. Lockdowns affect learning, graduation, school admissions, scholarships, and entering the workforce. While these are serious consequences, the problems for the most vulnerable in the world are far worse.
Research estimates 1.7 billion children in 188 countries have been negatively affected. The poorest people do not have access to a computer or live in a country with the infrastructure to accommodate online learning. In addition, research suggests that malnutrition, healthcare, homelessness and various other social and economic issues result.
It must be remembered that the average age of death with COVID matches the life-expectancy in most places. Children, while suffering no serious effects from COVID, are suffering the disruption of their education because of extended lockdowns. Their future is jeopardized in an effort to stop a virus that no lockdown has been able to stop.
3. Health Care
We were told that we must reduce the spread of COVID to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. Flatten the curve was a repeated refrain. According to a CBC article, in Alberta, 2,200 beds were made ready for COVID patients but only 10% were used during the height of infections. To empty those beds, 900 seniors were discharged, 22,000 surgeries were canceled or postponed (creating a two year backlog), and at least one man died waiting for a nonessential surgery. The same result is seen in other places.
At the same time, we’ve seen huge increases in drug addictions, overdoses, and suicides. Mental health issues have also increased. Doctors have recently been vocal in speaking out against the damage of lockdowns.
Please don’t think I’m being uncaring for those who are at risk for serious outcomes if they contract COVID-19. We should care for those vulnerable to COVID-19 and care for those vulnerable to the terrible effects of long-term lockdown measures. I have no doubt that our governing authorities mean well and that short-term lockdowns may be warranted in extreme circumstances. But the fact remains that long-term lockdowns are having long-term negative effects on people all over the world.
Applying Biblical Justice
In thinking about this issue, are we left with weighing pros and cons of lockdown or no lockdown? Are we stuck with computer models or “experts” who think they can run an entire society? Are we left without a objection when we are told that if we did not lockdown, the consequences would have been much worse? Does the Scripture give us some insight and direction? Does God’s word speak to this issue? Yes it does!Consider how understanding biblical truth helps us navigate this issue:
1. Isolating the sick is a righteous principle from the law of God.
Biblically, it makes sense to quarantine the contagiously sick. Leviticus 13:46 says, “He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.”
However, isolating the healthy is not a biblical principle and brings with it the damaging effects noted above.
2. Preventing someone from working or earning a living is biblically unlawful.
The law of God is written in what is called case law. A case is given where the principle is applied to a variety of situations. There is one law that is important for us to consider.
Deuteronomy 24:6 says, “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.” That is, if you take a mill as collateral, you are taking away a person’s livelihood, and in essence jeopardizing their very life as they depend on it. As one commentator writes, “No matter what the circumstances may be, we do not have the moral right to take from another person their means of livelihood” (Christensen, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 6B, p. 573).
To impede or take away one’s source of income and livelihood is unjust according to Scripture. Actions that prevent someone from working and earning a living is biblically unlawful. Lockdowns are biblically unjust.
3. The world needs Jesus to conquer fear and death, not extended lockdowns.
It can’t be disputed that the world’s response to this virus is in large part due to fear of death. Lockdowns continue because of this fear. Human governments believe they have the power to stop a virus—to be our savior. They have elevated their authority well beyond their biblical mandate.
But the remedy to this fear can only be found in the one, true Savior, Jesus Christ. As Christians, we have not been given a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), nor should we be anxious (Matthew 6:25). Rather, we must be a voice that calls people, not to fear death, but to fear God. More important than our body in danger of disease is our soul in danger of eternal separation from God (Matthew 10:28). What the world needs is Jesus.
With Jesus comes a new heart that does not fear, a delight in his law that grants us wisdom and discernment (for church and state), and a hope for the future that cannot be extinguished. It leads to a love for neighbor that takes seriously the threat of COVID (being mindful of spreading disease when you’re unwell and being extra careful around the most vulnerable) and the consequence of extended lockdowns that hurt people and go against biblical principles.
So let us live in light of God’s truth, understanding the goodness of God’s law, and call people to faith in Christ and trust in God’s word in a time of fear.
Tim Stephens