I love ping pong. Some of my best teen memories are playing ping pong with my brother, David, in our father's cluttered basement of our childhood home. That is why, when a local church (not the one in which I am a member, and am proud to be part of) had a Saturday morning table tennis tournament, I was excited to sign up.  Then, on Saturday morning, I arrived ready to play and see how my skills matched up with people I didn't grow up with.

I was one of the first people to arrive, but it didn't take long to see that virtually no one else was wearing a mask. Not the leaders of the church, not the organizers of the tournament, no one except myself and one of my coworkers who had also signed up. I told the pastor I couldn't stay, to which the only answer I got was "I hear you" - whatver that meant.

I left not so much out of concern for my health, although that's legitimate too, but because I simply didn't want to fellowship with foolish and self centered people.  I have run this through my head a thousand times, and that's my conclusion: self centered and foolish.

Self centered because wearing a mask is not about protecting oneself but protecting those around us.  The Scripture is full or admonitions to love our neighbors as ourselves, esteem others higher than ourselves, and humble ourselves.  I dare you to randomly open your Bible, point your finger at a verse and see how soon you hit on this theme.  For a year we've been told that masks are the single best way to prevent the spread of covid to other, more vulnerable citizens. How selfish can one be to disregard others because they don't want to wear a mask.

Foolish because of all the inane agruments-meant-to-look-intelligent but aren't. For example, "There's no evidence that masks prevent the spread of covid." First let me point out that that statement is wrong at best and a lie at worst.  But let's suppose when this is all over and done with, this proves to be correct.  You wore a mask when you didn't need to. What a pity.  But if it is (as alll research indicates) correct that mask wearing stops the spread, then by refusing to comply, you've helped kill granny in the nursing home, or that immuno-compromised kid down the street.  I'm pretty sure that's not what Jesus would do.

Self centeredness and foolishness merge seamlessly into the 'governemntal overreach' argument.  This clearly comes from people who put the word of Glenn Beck ahead of the Word of the Lord, and conservative politics ahead of faith in Jesus. In short, this argument comes form a place of idolarty. In fact, conservative Christians who use this agrument are guilty of something else as well: hypocrasy.  After all, many of the same people who are claiming that requiring mask wearing in a pandemic is the government overreaching their role nevertheless want the government to forbid abortions to pregnant women.  I'm sorry, but nine months of pregnancy, giving birth, and then either raising a child for 18 years of painfully relinquishing the child for adoption is asking a much bigger overreach than requiring a few ping pong players to wear masks.  

Don't get me wrong, this previous paragraph does not imply that I am in favor of abortions. I am not.  But I am in favor of a consistent ethic of life.  Simply put, I don't want Grandpa euthenized painlessly NOR to die a slow agonizing death because people claiming to respect life won't wear masks to stop the spread of covid-19. 

It is time to think about how we think about things. "Guard your hearts with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23  Most anti-mask rhetoric, even and especially among fundamentalists, is more Darwinian than devine; more evolutionary than evangelical. Anti-maskers base their views on personal preference and an 'oh well' attitude to the very same 'least of these' Jesus so highly regards in Matthew 25.