Let the Bad Slide on By
Written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“A kind person benefits herself, but a cruel person hurts herself”
Anti-vaxxers are experiencing backlash, and it isn’t appropriate. I catch myself thinking ill of those who refuse to be vaccinated and then apologize to God for my negative thought. It can be challenging to remain patient and compassionate when nearly half the country is refusing the vaccine. But then, when these individuals get sick and act surprised, it gets frustrating. As people of faith, we control our baser instincts and act with compassion, even when it isn’t easy.
Washington Post writer, Sol Cotti, offers the article “What do all these stories of vaccine denial deaths do to our sense of empathy?” and tells the story of one anti-vax family’s pain. Alexis Haug’s father died from Covid. He refused to be vaccinated. “A website called Sorry Antivaxxer, which catalogues the covid-19 deaths of people who had publicly posted their rejection of the vaccine, has found out about Haug’s father, Ron Munoz.” Included were images of Munoz’s Facebook page and anti-vaccine and anti-government statements he made.
People went to the site and were cruel. Hurtful people posted statements celebrating his death. Other comments were even worse. The cruelty has terrorized Alexis and the rest of her family during their time of mourning. Covid fatigue and the astronomical numbers leave us fearful, which triggers anger, which leads to lashing out. The internet is an easy place to lash out because there is little accountability. We say on social media what we would never say to someone’s face. If we had to watch the pain we were causing, we would be less likely to be cruel.
Today, search your heart for moments of anger and resentment. Anger can be an appropriate emotion, but not when anger leads to unethical behavior. As faithful people who try to emulate Jesus, the Christ, it is incumbent upon us to control our actions. Just because thoughts enter our minds does not mean we need to act on them. Negative thoughts do not define us, just how we respond. Let the negative thoughts enter, slide through our minds, and slide away from us. We choose what thoughts we grab, hold on to, and nurture. Ask God to give us the wisdom and empathy to grasp the compassionate thoughts and let the angry and unethical thoughts slide on through and away from us.
