COVID-19 Quarantine

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians:10.13

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world like none before. Counting no less than eight global contagions (including Spanish Flu) over the last Century, tiny microbes have killed upwards of 85 million human beings. Compare this casualty rate with 37 million combatant deaths and 27 million war-related civilian deaths in the Super-Weapon Age. Concurrently, global famine has needlessly taken 18 million lives. During the hyper-paced, super-hot Age of Climate Distress emerging in the 1950s (heatwaves, greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.), about 150,000 deaths per year ascribe to Global Warming. This Climate Kill Rate is expected to double, bringing climate-related casualties up to the twenty-million threshold. Beyond this, collateral damage to infrastructure is a huge multiplier to the grim Weather Kill Rate, generating property losses of about $300 million per individual climate-related death.

The geography of global lethal contagion is somewhat surprising. Maximally lethal Spanish Flu (50 million deaths) and AIDS (32 million deaths) were of U.S. origin. Spanish Flu was 1-year duration with 2.5% mortality. China (Asian Flu, SARS, and Corona Virus) and Hong Kong (Hong Kong Flu and Bird Flu) rank below the U.S. on the Danger Index but experience 4X the mortality (SARS). Mexico (Swine Flu) and Africa (Ebola) are tertiary among pandemic origins, but experience 16X the mortality (Ebola). Perhaps institutions like America’s CDC more swiftly arrest outbreaks among highly-social, highly-traveled, multi-national citizenry of the US. Extreme population density (close social distance) of China’s less-traveled, single-nationality population may explain its geographic salience for lethal contagion. Shortage of medical professionals on hand in Africa to arrest emergent epidemics may explain its maximal mortality rate over the last Century.

As the war against lethal microbes ascends to global proportions, there also emerges grim evidence of heightened frequency of attack:

Advanced treatment preparedness and efficacy may arrest an outbreak in as little as 18 months, but the next Big Bio Emergency looks like it could appear within three years. Data suggest that increasing travel and social contact intensity hasten onset of lethal epidemics.

How might a world citizen prepare for invisible microbial attacks that take life more swiftly than ever before?

Curtail Travel (Especially International Travel)

Practice Social Distancing Among Strangers

Retreat to Safe and Happy Home & Family Relationships for Closeness and Intimacy

These adjustments could re-birth healthy love, marriage, and family living; restoring an institution of God that has been disintegrating in busy modern times. It also naturally corrects nagging shortages of travel/logistics fuel haunting advanced nations since the 1970s. Were it possible to home-center life and work enduringly, such a lifestyle could naturally correct the rising burden of global warming. The Global Environmental Service’s Millennial Estate initiative detailed elsewhere on the GES website is especially relevant among curative lifestyles. It focuses as never before on quality stationarity and prospering self-sufficiency families are encouraged to consider in their quest for disease-free living.

On the Spiritual side, one might interpret COVID-19 pestilence as God’s punishment for sin (Exodus:15.26). God and Godliness avoids and heals disease (Psalm:103.3). Great Healer Jesus made clear the connection between sins originating in the mind and subsequent disease consequences as mind offenses flesh out in the body. He had the power to forgive both (Mark:2.4-12)! If ANY are mired in ungodliness (e.g., greed, prejudice, bullying, identity theft, cultism, terrorism, covetous surveillance, human trafficking, organized crime, wars), the COVID-19 Healing Pause might be God’s invitation to clean things up Spiritually, transforming (regenerating) a troubled mind into the indwelling Mind of Christ (Philippeans:2).

It also might be that reticence among Christian nations to save the whole world according to Jesus’ Great Commission is subjecting all of us to a Pandemic Penalty. Leaving underdeveloped un-Christianized nations to languish in ignorant sin is bringing their distress upon all. Accordingly, omission sins might be corrected by Believers ministering the Gospel at a safe distance, perhaps over the Internet. In this case, the Family of Faith might save both body and soul of many while preserving their own lives.

Should God-angering sin reside within the Household of God, the present quarantine provides a rather unique retreat from the less-serene proximate environment to re-kindle flagging personal relationships with God, as figured in the Nazarite Vow (Numbers:6). In any case, quarantine qualifies as a retreat from the world and worldliness any fearful or frustrated separated person might use to rebuild Spiritually and re-vitalize dearest-of-all family love relationships. Busy living abates for a while under quarantine. Might not this pause be a wonderful Breathing Moment to Spiritually recompose man’s most important relationship: that with our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

Prescriptive in this context:

Let God, The Father, Fill the Thought Space Vacated in Your Activity-Paused Mind

Read the Holy Bible Daily (Successful Head-of-State King David repaired to the Lord Five Times Daily)

Talk to Your Gracious Heavenly Father About Anything and Everything You Need

Pray your way towards a better composed life and future (Matthew:7.7-8)

Sing and Play Before Your Family and Your Heavenly Father: Hymns and Psalms and Spiritual Songs

Songs from the Heart Bless God (Psalm:103),

Strengthen Sagging Family Ties,

and Inspire Joy Above Anything Money Can Buy or Calamities Might Steal

May you find success in your Quarantine Moment (necessarily closing you off from lethal disease AND derivatively removing many worldly distractions), re-activating inner motivation for living, liberally and sufficiently provided by your all-loving, ever-faithful, indwelling, Almighty God.

William C. Patterson, Ph.D.

May 2020

#Pestilence #HolySpirit