“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

                                                                                                Job 12:13

I’m starting a sermon series soon called “Get Smart”. I’m borrowing the name from the old 1960’s comedy TV show that parodies spying at the height of the Cold War. All the sermons in the series are coming from the book of Proverbs and they all deal with how to live your life using the wisdom of God’s Word.

As I was working on one of the sermons for the series recently my wife sent me a chart produced by the Texas Medical Association. It shows the risk of contracting the Coronavirus during various activities. I thought receiving it was timely based on the spiking number of cases in our country, the upcoming sermon series, and the nightly news reports about the people who still just cannot (will not) grasp the breadth and depth of the situation we’re in.

The risks go from 1 (low risk) to 10 (high risk). See how you’re doing . . .

1.     Opening the mail

2.     Getting takeout, pumping gas, playing tennis, going camping

3.     Grocery shopping, going for a walk with others, playing golf

4.     Staying at a hotel for two nights, sitting in a medical waiting room, going to a library or museum, eating outside at a restaurant, walking in a busy downtown, spending an hour at a playground.

5.     Having dinner at someone’s house, attending a backyard barbeque, going to a beach, shopping at a mall

6.     Spending the day at school/camp/daycare, working one week in an office building, swimming in a public pool, visiting an elderly relative/friend in their home

7.     Going to a hair salon/barbershop, eating in a restaurant, attending a wedding/funeral, traveling by plane, playing basketball, playing football, hugging or shaking hands

8.     Eating at a buffet, working out at a gym, going to an amusement park, going to a movie theater

9.     Attending a large concert, going to a sports stadium, attending a religious service with over 500 people, going to a bar.

Folks, it’s not too late to “get smart” about this deadly virus. Each day the numbers continue to go up, and until a cure and vaccine is found, we hold the keys to mitigating the spread. Social distance, wash your hands, and wear a mask, It’s that simple. It won’t eradicate the spread, but it will definitely work to curb it.

Globally we’re almost to 11.5 million cases with over 500,000 deaths. Here in the United States we’re nearing 3 million cases with over 132,000 deaths. North Carolina is nearing 75,000 cases with almost 1,400 deaths. And we’re still finding out new information every day. Just this morning I heard that Covid-19 may not be a respiratory disease as first thought; it may be a virus of the blood system.

Knowledge is the facts we have about the virus. Wisdom is making good decisions with that knowledge. God gave us all a brain; let’s use them. Be safe for yourself and others.

“Father, Give us a heart of wisdom. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Grace,

Rev. Dan