“Are you distancing?” is one of the most commonly heard questions these days, though it’s more of an implied command than just curiosity in search of an answer. Various medical and governmental authorities are telling us to put distance between us and other people, from 6 feet to as much as 27 feet, depending on which “expert” is speaking. The warning is that the coronavirus is so contagious that social distancing, along with hand- washing, mask wearing, and face-touching-avoidance are required to slow down or stop its spread.
When it comes to a pandemic, maintaining social distance, that is, space between people, is probably a good idea, since the virus seems to be spread through physical contact, sneezes, and coughs (not to mention smooches). It’s something we do automatically when we enter a room and see someone who is coughing; we go and sit in a different part of the room without even thinking about it. What makes this distancing hard on us is that we are by nature social creatures, requiring interaction with other human beings. We interact with other people in our work, schools, playtime, and home life – not to mention in our churches. We were not created to be alone, but to be in fellowship with others, so this enforced distancing is hard on our spirits and psyches. The seemingly random and contradictory decisions about what is deemed to be an essential service (e.g., cannabis shops, yes; churches, no) doesn’t make it any easier to tolerate this period of shut-downs, nor does the impact on people’s livelihoods and productiveness. Add to that the heavy-handedness of some governmental entities enforcing what they consider to be proper distancing, and we, both individually and as a society, are having some serious struggles. We hope and pray this will end soon!
But as I considered the term and concept of “distancing,” I thought of it not only in the physical sense of spacing ourselves from other people, but also in the spiritual sense, pondering what would be good distancing and bad distancing when it comes to what is good or bad for our souls. Here are some of my thoughts in that regard:
1. Distancing from what is bad. There are many things that are spiritually harmful to us, from which we should distance ourselves. The principle is this: we should distance ourselves from anything, or anyone, that would lead us to disobey God in our thoughts, words, or actions.
That distancing will take place in our thoughts and desires, but also sometimes needs to be enforced physically. For example, Jesus taught us that to lust in our hearts is to commit the sin of adultery. Therefore it would not be a good idea for a man to hang around a strip club or visit certain prurient websites on his computer. It would be far healthier spiritually to distance himself from both physical and virtual proximity to such temptations and surround himself with what is good and pleasing to God.
Other times the distancing has to be from a person whose attitudes are hateful, who sows discord by gossiping and spreading rumors, who encourages dishonesty and covetousness, who breaks laws or who disrespects God, whether by outright denial of faith or by taking God’s name in vain (“OMG!”). The Apostle Paul lists a variety of such people to avoid in Romans 1:29-31, “They were filled with all manner of unrighteous-ness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” And in Romans 16:17 he warned, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”Again, the principle is to avoid getting caught up in sinful thoughts and actions by associating with people who practice such things.
Now, some might argue against this distancing by saying, “But pastor, sinners are the very people who need me to hang around with them, showing them love and demonstrating good attitudes and behavior. After all, didn’t Jesus associate with sinners?” I would reply that, yes, I should confront people with God’s Word and commandments, and show them love and right behavior. But the danger comes when I try to be so much accepted by them that I take on their attitudes and behaviors such that there is hardly any difference between their actions and mine. Jesus, who knew no sin, “who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), could associate without becoming soiled himself, but I am too aware of my own sins to risk putting myself in such situations. Even Paul warned against the contagious nature of sinful behavior when he spoke of rebuking a brother who sins: “Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). As the old Southern proverb said, “You can’t waller with the pigs; you both get dirty.”
Ultimately, since our spiritual struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of the fallen spiritual world (Ephesians 6:12), our distancing is from Satan and his lies. That’s why the first part of the rite of Christian baptism (after the invocation) is an exorcism: those being baptized are asked to renounce “all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises.” The one being baptized is separated (“distanced”) from the devil by “death” in the waters of baptism, and given new life that is joined to Christ. Just as Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan!” (Mark 8:33) when tempted through Peter to avoid the cross, so we are saying the same in our baptism, and every time we distance from sin and darkness in our lives.
But of course, in ourselves we have no such ability to reject sin and choose what is right and holy. We must be joined to Christ and operate under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Not distancing from what is good. Spiritually, we need to avoid being distanced from God in our hearts and minds. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that we humans don’t have to be taught or encouraged to distance ourselves from him; we’ve been doing it from the beginning. When we focus on our own needs and desires, and our own abilities to get what we want, we push God away. Only when we fail do we sometimes turn to God with the patronizing statement: “The only thing left to do is pray!” as if God were the last resort, rather than the One we should have been looking to from the very beginning.
Of course, it is only ourselves we are hurting by ignoring God or pushing him away. He never really goes anywhere; it is only our spiritual blindness (or nearsightedness) that keeps us from seeing him close by, ready to help.
The Book of Jonah illustrates the foolishness of a man who tried to get away from God and God’s call on his life. When God called upon Jonah to go and preach to the city of Nineveh, which required a journey by land to the east, Jonah got into a boat and sailed by sea to the west. As if he could escape God! God sent a great storm that threatened to sink the boat, and when the sailors asked their passenger who he was and whether he could be the reason for the storm, Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9). So . . . he thought he could distance himself from the God who made the sea . . . by sailing on it? The crew threw him overboard after that.
Psalm 139:7-12 proclaims beautifully that God is near us wherever we go:
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
Because God is indeed everywhere, any distance we experience from him is only because of our sin and failure to seek and see him. It’s on us. But God, in his great love for us, seeks closeness with us, and therefore came to us as the Son, providing a way for that closeness to be restored and for us to have eternal spiritual intimacy with him. Through Christ he provided forgiveness of our sins, made us his children (John 1:12), and opened the gates to life with him (spiritually and physically) forever.
Therefore, he calls on us to approach him, to end our “social distancing” from him: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6), and “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). The verse in James even goes on to say, “Cleanse your hands.” (I wonder if that refers to hand sanitizer?).
I could go on, and talk about the ways we can maintain (or regain) the closeness that God desires from us: Bible study, prayer, worship, contact with mature Christians who exhibit godly behavior and attitudes, etc. But you get the point. The closer we draw to God, the further we distance ourselves from what is harmful to our souls.
So stay safe, stay healthy, keep your distance from what can harm you; but stay close and embrace Christ, who will ultimately save both body and soul!
Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Jonah, Psalm 139, Ephesians 6:11-13, Romans 1:18-32
Beautifully said, er, written, Pastor.
Thank you.