If you had told me in February of this year that I would be writing a blog post on the spiritual significance of wearing a mask, I would have laughed in your face (without wearing a mask). In fact, I thought until very recently that another post from another blogger on this subject was not needed. I thought we had gotten the message loud and clear about the importance of wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was wrong. I am compelled to write about it.

Just this week in Alabama, the state in which I reside, the percentage of positive cases has doubled. This information is from the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Daily Case Characteristic charts:

From June 4 – June 10, 33,535 tests were performed, and there were 2,553 positive cases, for a positive percentage of 7.6%.

From June 11 – June 16, 26,581 tests were performed, and there were 4,050 positive tests, for a positive percentage of 15.24%.

State and federal officials would want us to believe that the number of cases are increasing in some areas because of more testing. That is partially true but it hides the more compelling number. The important number to watch is the percentage of positive tests among all tests given. In Alabama, that doubled in a week.

And why is this the case? The speculation is that people decided that Memorial Day weekend was the right time to “return to our previously scheduled program in progress” (to put it in television terms). It was time to get out and enjoy shopping and eating and interacting with each other again, acting as if the pandemic was over in some instances.

And all of that might be well and good except for one big problem: PEOPLE ARE NOT WEARING MASKS!

Every medical expert interviewed says that wearing a mask will reduce the community spread of COVID-19, some say by up to 95%. And so, the question remains, why aren’t more people wearing masks? The reasons are startling.

Some say it’s a cosmetic and a comfort issue. They don’t wear a mask because they don’t like the way it makes them look or that it’s uncomfortable. Well, pardon me, but get over it. I don’t know of anyone who WANTS to wear a mask in public. One medical expert interviewed this week said she doesn’t like wearing pants in public, but it’s necessary. Yes, masks can get hot and stuffy, especially in the high humidity south. Yes, they may look goofy. But seriously? That’s your reason?

Others say it’s a supply issue. They say they don’t have a mask to wear. Well, if you haven’t seen a youtube video or your local news showing how to create a mask with a t-shirt and a rubber band, you’ve had your head in the sand. I just don’t buy it. Masks are available. Wear a bandana.

Now this next reason is a good one. Some say it’s a political issue. I know, it’s hard to believe but we, in the United States, can politicize anything. Some don’t wear a mask because they believe it’s sending a political statement. Of course, President Donald J. Trump refuses to wear one. And so, some believe if you wear a mask, you are not being loyal to the president. Sigh…please, I just don’t have all the space and time to respond to this absurdity.

And then there’s this reason. It’s a freedom issue: “IT’S MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT NOT TO WEAR A MASK!!” And while that may be true, I like what a retired federal judge said in response to that statement. He said, “It’s not your constitutional right to give someone else the coronavirus.”

For you see, wearing a mask in public does nothing to protect you from anyone else. Instead, it has everything to do with protecting anyone else from your spit droplets and and your nose droplets. And for this reason, I contend that to mask or not to mask is not a cosmetic issue or a comfort issue or a supply issue or a political issue or even a freedom issue. It’s much more important than that. It’s a spiritual issue.

Yes, follower of Christ, it’s that darn old golden rule again. Jesus said it. It is recorded in Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

To mask or not to mask is a spiritual issue…plain and simple. The next time you choose to go into an enclosed space with other people during the pandemic, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I really that calloused toward another that I would walk my asymptomatic self into an enclosed space where others are gathered without doing what I could to protect those around me?

Am I really so arrogant that I would not wear a mask because I don’t like the way it looks or feels even if it meant that I could transmit a virus to another person?

Do I really not care about those around me? Am I that indifferent to the safety of others?

If so, please ponder this.

I don’t mean to sound trite when I ask this, but what would Jesus do? I believe the one who said there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13) would wear a mask to protect that friend, or anyone else.

As his followers, we owe no less to those around us.