Sweet potential in this crises...

So in the midst of all of this, the hope is that maybe one person gets saved, and that makes it wonderful?
Businesses failing, dreams crushed. People enduring the suffering of losing those they love. Thousands, or possibly hundreds of thousands, dying and likely going to hell with no hope of salvation. Stock market crashing and people loosing their money. The potential for homelessness to increase in the aftermath, or sooner. No doubt as tensions rise, and people are trapped in their houses, domestic violence will go up as fearful, cowardly control freaks are trapped in houses with the victims of their anger, day in and day out. Infected people suffering and in fear as their lives slip away and have no idea if they will survive or not. And more than this, just in the idea, of a maybe, that one person Might get saved as a result? I don't see the 'sweet potential' in all that pain, devastation and loss, especially since that 'sweet potential' is purely and entirely speculative and nothing more than a made up idea designed to ease your own fears.
No matter what good may eventually come out of this, the price is still too high to pay.

I think it's both. The potential devastation could be great, but if Satan who comes to steal, kill, and destroy is getting some more dominion it won't last forever. God is sovereign and can still draw people to Him in this. I wouldn't say that makes things wonderful, but He knows when each of our numbers will be up. He'll have us here to love our neighbor and be His witnesses in sharing the gospel and His works, even while quarantined. If God calls individuals home, that's up to Him.

About that theory that we should continue on with life as usual and let the elderly die or recover as they can... ALL THIS FOR MONEY?!

This dude is saying we should pretend life is normal so the economy will not slow down? REALLY?!

The economy will recover. It always does. Dead people won't recover. Long after this stuff has blown over, the people who could have been spared will still be dead... but we don't care because we want to safeguard our financial continuity?

If I were a betting man I would bet a month of paychecks that the Texas lt. governor is worried about his stocks dwindling.

Here on the east coasst of Spain it has been raining gently to strong for many days. This is quite a blessing because, as I had figured, while it had been quite warm all winter and of late, it has cooled down dramatically. Of my 35 years in Spain, I have never seen it rain so much, and so consistently gentle ever. It is wonderful. The air is even cleaner, though it was faitly OK always.

Now something that is disturbing. Out of Texas there is a man, politician, touting that the elderly would rather be left to die than to harm th economy.
Last week, also from the US, there was the thought that the elderly should be allowed to just die. Shades of Fascist philosophy, Who nexts, all democrats? All crippled? All those not liked by the ones in power to care for them????

Here in Spain there is an alarming number of rest home deaths. That also sends me off on a guided paranoia jaunt. This idea of allowing the elderly to just die is not just coming from the US.

I am 75, healthy within the parameters of certain common conditions for people such as I, and I am staying in. I do go out for essentians but even that is slowing down, post-poning certain meds prescribed for me. Should I contract this virus and die?

Since my own earliest childhood I have always wanted to be old. I would visit elderly neighbors, on e who had no legs and others who just needed someone to visit or run an errand. There was also Barbara, a woman not elderly but with no feet. I used to crawl through a hole in the back fence to get to her house. Now my motives were not innocent becaus she let me play in her wheelchair. I even had dreams of Barbara being able to walk. She was neat.

People are neat. Anyway I have always found it distateful at best when people refer to the murder or accidental deaths of elderly people as "Oh well , he or she was old." Not to be thought of this way, for only our Father should determine when a person is sto leave this age....................and so it goes. Plese forgive my rant, but I do believe all life is up to our Father, the Giver of all good. All blessing to all in Yeshua, and all who will be, amen.

Here's an excerpt to consider from a recent Desiring God article concerning our walk as Christians when facing a threat like Coronavirus. It's called What Courage Might Corona Unleash?




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshall Segal (@marshallsegal) is a writer and managing editor at desiringGod.org. He’s the author of Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Singleness & Dating. He graduated from Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Faye, have a son and live in Minneapolis.

God bless you!

~Deut

Hey there, beautiful CharliRenee,

I must confess that your thread had me thinking all morning while I was going through my regular routine. I have several thoughts to contribute, but am working on a separate thread so that I don't derail this one.

Like everyone else, I am trying to fight off a sense of panic during these challenging times, but I was absolutely horrified to read the news article about the Texan senator who is asking the elderly to put themselves at risk for the sake of the economy and the younger generations.

I couldn't help but think especially of our brave war veterans -- have they not been asked to sacrifice enough for the rest of us? Talk about adding insult to injury: "We used you when you were young -- thank goodness you survived, because now that you're old, we've found yet another way to use you for our own self-interests!"

Heaven forbid this should ever happen!!!

I thought it was awesome when JaumeJ shared with us his dream to grow older, and am terribly saddened that anyone would tell him he needs to "sacrifice" his dream. JaumeJ, may God bless you with many more healthy decades!!!

I have to confess that my thinking aligns more with Subhumanoidal's, partially because I'm not a big fan of "Crisis Conversion." Part of my journey through the Christian walk has been witnessing several people crying out to God in the middle of a crisis, then going right back to the actions that got them there as soon as things get better. I'm not saying this in judgment, seeing as even the most heartfelt believers do this as well (definitely me included!)

But what I had to ask God this morning was this:

"Lord, we all know the passage in which Jesus tells us that we are worth more than many sparrows to God (Matthew 10:31). But how many believers are worth the price of getting one unbeliever saved?" In other words, if one unbeliever is saved through this crisis, praise God!!! BUT, how many BELIEVING lives should we be willing to sacrifice for that to happen?

I don't know the answer -- that's up to God alone. Now as Christians, I know we should all be willing to raise our hands and sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others -- I don't mind sacrificing myself. But please don't ask me to sacrifice the older and vulnerable people in my life whom I love with all my heart.

And these are some of the things I think about as I watch vulnerable friends and family being forced to put their lives at risk every day in order to feed their families. If I had a newborn daughter, would I ask my elderly relatives to sacrifice themselves to give her a future?

Before jumping into the ocean, a flock of penguins will stand at the edge of the cliff, pushing a couple of fellow penguins off the edge in order to test for predators. If none of the "test penguins" are eaten, they know it's safe to jump into the water. So... Who wants to be a test penguin?

And as we all find ourselves adrift on a very modern-day Titanic, how do we decide which people should be pushed over the edge, and which ones should be given a chance to live?

Spot on, I agree. We do not, should not even consider any life more valuable or worthy than another.

I apologize to you as I did sub, as you guys are right about putting lives over $ and it is shameful to even appear to make light of the loss, physically and financially.

I appreciate your honest feedback, so thank you.

God Bless

So in the midst of all of this, the hope is that maybe one person gets saved, and that makes it wonderful?
Businesses failing, dreams crushed. People enduring the suffering of losing those they love. Thousands, or possibly hundreds of thousands, dying and likely going to hell with no hope of salvation. Stock market crashing and people loosing their money. The potential for homelessness to increase in the aftermath, or sooner. No doubt as tensions rise, and people are trapped in their houses, domestic violence will go up as fearful, cowardly control freaks are trapped in houses with the victims of their anger, day in and day out. Infected people suffering and in fear as their lives slip away and have no idea if they will survive or not. And more than this, just in the idea, of a maybe, that one person Might get saved as a result? I don't see the 'sweet potential' in all that pain, devastation and loss, especially since that 'sweet potential' is purely and entirely speculative and nothing more than a made up idea designed to ease your own fears.
No matter what good may eventually come out of this, the price is still too high to pay.

No worries at all, Charli. Thank you so much for taking the time to make personalized, heartfelt replies. I know you only meant the best and that you would never make light of a tragic situation.

I apologize if I went overboard in my post. (I'm also going to postpone the thread I was working on, as I think it's too dark at the moment and, following your example, people need hope, not more talk of worse case scenarios.)

My mind was really cranking when I read the news this morning, and I'm sorry that some of my inner conflict spilled into your thread. Please, keep making us think!

God is still on the throne. If Corrie Ten Boom can praise God suffering the lost of her family while in a concentration camp during the Holocaust, so can we. God can use immense suffering to still bring people to him. I don't know why he is allowing this to happen at this point in history, but His ways are higher than our ways. I didn't hear anything of faith, of trust in God in your post. I don't think the OP is saying this is a wonderful moment in time. What she is saying there is a potential in all this suffering that one may come to God. One lost sinner coming home causes joy all over heaven.