End of Days?

 Someone recently asked me if I believed the pandemic was the beginning of the end of days.  Surprisingly, as opinionated as I am, I could not offer an answer.  It would be easy to dismiss the notion, but I am not that confident.  I recognize that there are forces much larger than I who have that answer.

So what do I actually believe?  I believe that whether this is part of the end of the earth, or simply a part of the human experience, we are being watched and evaluated.  

Let's face it, none of us have ever faced a test of this magnitude.  The loss of freedom to move about as we please, the loss of educational opportunities, the loss of resources, the loss of family members, the loss of close contact with other humans, and on and on.  

There are 2 life lessons that come to mind.  First,  true character is shown by what we do when we think nobody is looking.  In other words, we are only as good as what we will do, good or bad, when it is just us and our inner most gut that will know the difference.  When there are no outside influences, who are we REALLY?  I have mentioned this in my previous posts but it bears repeating; my dad has certainly not been a perfect father (none of us are) BUT he has instilled in me one very critical lesson, which is the fact that if you don't have your word and your integrity you don't have anything.  He taught me that regardless of how brutally right or wrong we are, we owe it to ourselves and everyone else to look them straight in the eye and be exactly who we are, and deal with it.

Secondly, true character shows up in the worst of times.  It is easy to be strong when things are within our control, but true character comes when our backs are truly against the wall.  The main question is: did we think of ourselves first, or did we think of others?

Unfortunately, in large part, we have failed this test spectacularly. As children, we are taught that the human soul is much more important than money.  We are taught that those who TRULY believe will honor and protect their brothers and sisters before they will protect money.  We are seeing a true test of this belief. 

Every person who argued that protecting others with masks and hygiene was a violation of their "personal freedom" you FAILED this test.  For every person who kept a business running against health orders, you FAILED the test.  For every person who held gatherings and intentionally risked the health of those around you, you FAILED the test.  You all forgot that 10, or 20, or even 30 years is merely a blink of an eye in eternity.  Whether you ran a successful pizza shop or shoe store or bowling alley is irrelevant when the end comes.

We will be judged by how we protected one other.  We will be judged by what we were willing to sacrifice for one another?  We will be judged by what we did when things were at their darkest?  Where we selfish?  Were we worried about one another, or by "personal freedoms"?  

Will you be able to hold your head up, look our savior in the eye, and say that when the darkest days were upon us you stood tall and protected your fellow man?  Will you be able to say that you pushed selfish and earthly needs aside?  

Be well and God Bless.    Tom