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Isn’t it instructive to think about our grumbling prior to the pandemic? So many of the things we complained about then would be welcomed annoyances today. The divisiveness in our culture was at an all-time high, at least in my lifetime. Things have been worse, of course (e.g., the American Revolution and Civil War). Still, I have not experienced life as challenging as it has been lately—from a cultural and political perspective. As I reshuffle the “events of my life hierarchy” with the worst at the top, what is happening today is ascending while my former complaints are moving down a notch or two.
It won’t be long before our most common mantra about the “good old days” will be prior to the pandemic. Reflecting on how good you had it may teach you how things can worsen—a call to be thankful today for what you have. I’m not sure what to think about how bad it is today when one of the biggest flies in our cultural ointment was about whether we should wear a mask. I suppose folks who live in third-world countries shook their heads at our mask problem. I’m not saying it was not an issue, but what if you reframed it from another perspective?
For those of you who have been counseling for a while, you know that rarely is the first question a counselee asks the most vital one they should ask. Typically, a counselee will begin with the external problem, i.e., “my wife won’t talk to me,” which is what the husband experiences most acutely. They will ask for tips on how to communicate well with each other without biting and devouring one another (Galatians 5:15). Best practices and guidelines on how to communicate well are vital. The counselor will serve them well by providing a few ways they can think about talking without being harsh, judgmental, or silent.
As you help with the practical side of their talk trouble, you want to dig deeper to show them some of the hidden complexities and relational dynamics below the surface. Our mask problem was similar; it was not the most controlling issue. The opening paragraph of the Proverbs of Solomon ends with a statement that gives us guidance on the deeper matters of the heart. Solomon implies that we must have the right starting place before we begin problem-solving. That old verse is the best one for our times. We need knowledge, wisdom, and instruction, but that is not where we want to begin. Do you see the right starting place in this verse?
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).
I’ll get back to Solomon in a moment, but first, may I make an appeal? As you proceed with any secondary matter, the most challenging thing for you is to be slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19). Will you bear with me? I realize that many people get bent-out-shape about things like masks. I understand the tension. The left side of our political spectrum has pushed their agendas farther than they have ever gone before, and it’s bugging some of us while tempting others to fear in ways that are debilitating. When you look at today’s evolving political spectrum, you see everything sliding leftward.
There used to be the liberal left with whom the conservatives did battle. Those folks continue to exist, but there is another group on the other side of them that makes liberals look conservative. It’s not like these socialists, communists, and Marxists have not been around. They have always been here. The difference is that there was a time when the left and right had one immutable dividing line of agreement that said America is a great country, though we differed on which worldview should be preeminent.
Many people believe that an invisible force is pulling liberals and conservatives into a dark, left-leaning black hole. Their fear or frustration intensifies as they watch the shifting of the Overton Window. At the top of the window are the more radical ideas of the culture. The farther you go to the bottom, the more conservative you become. The problem is the continual upward momentum of the Overton Window. It’s changing what acceptable talking points are. For example, being gay used to be outside the Overton Window of acceptable behavior. Today, being gay is near the center of the window, while disagreeing with gayness has fallen through the floor.
You’re a homophobe if you believe being gay is wrong. As the Overton Window continues to move upward, our culture will embrace more ideas that used to be taboo, while historical, conservative views will fall from the bottom of the window, making those formerly acceptable ideas phobic and worthy of our cancellation, or even worse. As the Christian community sees the slow eroding of their beliefs, their fear and frustration levels rise higher than their faith in what God might do with our skirmishes.
How do you follow along when you believe someone is pulling you into a world that you disdain? Should you give up this ground or stand fast? What if you give up a little for now and return later after things settle down? Will things settle or continue to change forever? These questions—plus a few others—explain the problem with our masks, which is why you must be careful when addressing what should be an easy question to answer. It’s not. The mask is a metaphor for a world gone mad. Should you wear a mask? The world is divided over this question, and so is the church. On a more granular level, friends and families feel the pinch, too.
To add to the complexity, many folks in the culture are watching us. A few of them laugh, mock, and jeer, while others feel affirmation because they always cynically knew that Christianity is full of fake and immature Christians. This angst brings us back to Solomon. Solomon wants us to go back to the beginning of knowledge to make sure that we’re at the right spot before we answer the question about wearing a mask. He wants us to calibrate our hearts. If you don’t do this, you won’t think rightly about masks or anything else. Where is this right spot? Solomon places the starting place for all knowledge in the fear of God.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. If you want to know what to do about wearing a mask, you must address your understanding of the fear of God. Do you know what that term means? If so, how is the fear of God actively monitoring and guiding you as you think about the “should I wear a mask” quandary? The fear of God has two parts: God is a God of judgment and a God of love, both of which you see at the dawn of humanity. After Adam and Eve sinned, there was a judgment on them, but God was not just the punisher of sin: He provided a sacrifice for them so that they would not have to pay for their transgressions.
The balanced Christian has a healthy fear of God, an awe-filled fear that rests in His astonishing love because the believer knows that Christ forever judged their most significant problem in life. This Christian is not just restful; their peace shapes how they think about God, self, others, and life. The fear of God is why a mask does not manage them.
If you lean one way or another on the fear of God spectrum, your attitude and responses to others will reflect it. For example, if you are overly harsh, stubborn, critical, unkind, resentful, and frustrated about this mask thing, you’re not at peace, and you will lean toward the judgment side of things. Judgment people tend to be harsher with how they think about matters of practice. If you’re more afraid, manipulatable, willing to go with the flow, and characterized by anxiousness when thinking about the mask thing, you’re leaning too much toward the love side of things. Love must have courage, or it’s not love at all. This person is afraid to take a stand, also called the fear of others (Proverbs 29:25). Their compromised love becomes a failed attempt to keep others from being unkind to them. If your love does not have a backbone, don’t call it love because it’s not. You’re fearful.
A person who understands the fear of God is in the right place to have the right knowledge. They are not unkind toward others or afraid to take a stand. Because the fear of the Lord manages them, they can think rightly about all things regarding life and godliness, including our cultural mask problem.
I could provide you with a long list of things that I believe and do, and some of you would be offended. These things are not sinful to me, but some folks would not agree because a few of those preferential practices grind against their souls. Because of this tension, if I know that [fill in the blank] bothers you, I will not do it in front of you (James 4:17). It would be unkind to do so. Of course, the comeback is, “But what if it’s not a sin? Are you to bow to every whim, preference, peculiarity, and quirk of someone?” The answer is obvious if you understand and practice the fear of the Lord.
Neither instance is the wisdom of Solomon. If you fall one way or the other, you need to get alone with God and work out your skewed understanding and practice of the fear of the Lord. It would be wise and helpful to connect with someone more mature than you are to repair your fear of God problem. As you correct it, you will grow in wisdom, which is how you’re going to figure out how to answer the mask question. I suspect some folks will read this, expecting me to answer the mask question for them. These folks lack understanding and tend to want others to solve their problems without them doing the hard work of wrestling with God. Ninety-nine percent of all your questions are not in the Bible—in an explicit way.
You have to make your decision about wearing a mask—or the next thing—based on where you are with the Lord. Specifically, it will be your understanding and practice of the fear of God. If you’re too harsh or too manipulated by others, you’re not at the right starting point, and you will not make the best decision or react properly to others. If you are frustrated or fearful, the essential thing you should do is ask someone about your attitude, words, and actions regarding the secondary controversial preference of the moment.
If a Christian is unwilling to do that, then they are not a humble person, and you have your answer about where they are with the Lord. If they persist, they will stir up strife (James 4:6). But if the humble believer is willing to solicit input from one or two competent, compassionate, and courageous friends, they will be able to adjust themselves biblically. The kind of friend you’re looking for to assist you in the biblically informed decision-making process has these core components of friendship:
Talk to them. Make sure you’re at the right starting place, which is a proper fear of God, which influences your thoughts and practice. Then, your response to the mask—or the next thing—will be as right as it can be.
Rick launched the Life Over Coffee global training network in 2008 to bring hope and help for you and others by creating resources that spark conversations for transformation. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.
In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology and, in 1991, a BS in Education. In 1993, he received his ordination into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).
