Did you know that there’s a global pandemic going on? I know, right?
I recognize that writing anything about the pandemic seems to invite criticism from one side or the other, so maybe I’m being foolish. But my goal isn’t to comment on the specifics of whether or not schools should reopen this fall, or the constitutionality of the government imposing restrictions on businesses or churches, or whether the national media is overhyping or underselling the seriousness of the situation. All I want to do is share a passage of Scripture that has affected how I understand my personal responsibility during this time.
In Deuteronomy 22:8, God gives the Israelites this command: “When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.”
I know, this passage seems random and irrelevant. At first glance, this building code seems tied specifically to the Israelites’ cultural context. In ancient Israel, the roofs of houses were flat. Because it could get so hot and stuffy inside the house, it would be common for people to do various things on the roof. (Remember, for example, how King David was walking on his roof one evening when he noticed Bathsheba.) So God commanded the Israelites to build a parapet — a little protective wall — around the edge of their roofs to help prevent people from falling off. It functioned like a guardrail.
I imagine that doing this would come with some personal cost. It would be a little inconvenient. And it would have been easy to say, “Well, if someone falls of my roof, that’s their own fault! If they don’t feel safe, they don’t need to come over.” And yet, the people were expected to build these parapets. Why?
When I read this passage a couple months ago, I thought about what underlying principle is at play here, and how it might apply today. And what I saw is this: The Israelites understood that they had a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of others around them.
And boy oh boy, is that principle relevant today! It has saddened me to see the pandemic-response become such a partisan issue. Sometimes it feels like we’ve gotten so distracted by arguments about who’s right and who’s wrong that we’ve forgotten to ask this simple question: “What responsibility do I have for the other people around me?” It’s not just a matter of politics. It’s a matter of discipleship, and a matter of love.
During this time, many people have said how they hate having someone else tell them what to do, whether it’s in relation to social distancing or face masks or quarantining. And I get that, because I hate people telling me what to do too! To be honest, I hate wearing a mask. It’s uncomfortable, it fogs up my glasses, and it robs people from being able to see how good-looking I am. And in the early days of masks being recommended, I usually didn’t wear one when I went to the store. It didn’t seem to be worth it, and I didn’t have one that fit anyways. But after reading Deuteronomy 22, my thoughts changed. I realized I needed to stop thinking only about my own comfort and convenience, and begin thinking more about the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4).
My goal isn’t to condemn or point fingers (Isn’t there enough of that in our world these days?). Otherwise, I’d have to be pointing most of the fingers at myself for the times I’ve put my own comfort or convenience ahead of the needs of others — not just in this pandemic, but throughout my life! But what I do hope is that as people who are following Jesus, we really reflect on what it looks like to love our neighbor well in this time. What are the “parapets” we need to build in our lives to help protect others?
I know all of us are kind of making it up as we go. After all, we’ve never been in anything like this before! But wouldn’t it be great if the world could look at Christians and see us as the people who are most willing to deny ourselves? As the people who are most willing to lay down our rights? As the people who are most willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of others?
After all, we follow a Savior who sacrificed his personal prerogatives for us. Doesn’t it only make sense for us to do the same?
A Few Words 