MASKED

I joined the trend of making face/nose masks in late April as coronavirus concerns ramped up. These I sewed for my three grandsons from some fun fabric I had sitting around.  I haven’t seen the boys “model” them, but at least I gave it a try. I made one for myself, too; hubby has a commercial one that will last a while.

When I took an unmasked neighborhood walk one recent afternoon I saw other walkers (far away!) both masked and unmasked. I’m saving mine for ventures to places like the store where I’m in closer contact with possible bad viruses. But the proliferation of masks as the new public apparel got me thinking of other things that come out of (as well as go into) the two vulnerable holes in our heads (mouth and nose).

In scripture, the mouth was used in a metaphor about what comes out of one’s heart. James spoke strongly against loose and mean talking: “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body; it corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). His Old Testament counterparts who contributed to Proverbs didn’t mince words about “evil” or uncaring words, either.  Like Proverbs 4:24: “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from you.”  The list of ungodly behaviors Paul warned would escalate before Christ returned included a lot of tongue-dependent activities: boastful, abusive, ungrateful, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, treacherous .... (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Such people, Paul said, would parade as believers, but really aren’t.

Scary. Sneaky. Like the Covid-19 virus we can’t see but strikes both godly and ungodly alike.

A few weeks ago, as pandemic concerns continued to occupy the media, I couldn’t miss the message  that my age and underlying health issues put me up in the “at risk” category. One night, I felt chills coming on; my temperature was indeed already pushing toward 100. I had a cough and sore throat, though it seemed more like allergies than the reported choking cough of this virus. I tidied up my sewing piles, reminded my husband where I’d written computer passwords, and told him I was headed to bed with some concerning symptoms.

In the middle of the night I woke with sure signs of an allergy-related sinus infection, no doubt thanks to intense winds blowing around spring pollens.Whew!  Nothing “Covid-y” came of it. But the incident prompted me to examine my heart as to whether I’m ready to die and meet the Savior. Is my heart clean?  Do the words that come out my mouth (influenced by my heart) exalt the Savior, show kindness, and share wisdom?  No masks should cover up those qualities!  Jesus is worthy of spreading around!