I’ve never heard so many questions for answers that I never knew existed. Questions about how far cough droplets travel. What is a contact tracer? How do I fold a homemade cloth face covering? Who should self-quarantine? We are under daily bombardment of questions and answers, perhaps more of the former than the latter, with differing opinions on how to restore “life as we knew it” without losing life itself.

As we take steps into the reopening light of this dark pandemic, every day brings its own unique questions. The world on the other side looks familiar, but not completely the same. 

In spite of our weariness of all the talk, we seem drawn to it, even engaging in our own diatribes on social media at times. (It doesn’t escape me that here I am adding to the deluge of pandemic conversation.)

The tension seems to be tautest between economics and health. Three months ago it would have been impossible to imagine a day in which going to work could create conflict between earning an income to put food on the table and placing public health at risk. But alas, these are the times.

To the already crowded dialogue, there is yet another perspective which Christians might ought to consider in this worldwide obsession. It is a mostly missing moral conversation that centers on what I’ll call the integrity of Christ. Integrity means to be whole, fulfilled, and undivided. Think of the words integer and integrate as ideas that contribute to the whole of something. As the body of Christ in the world, we have the responsibility to complete His presence in the world, to fulfill the integrity of Christ.

Believers should ask the question: Who should I be and how should I act in this moment to bring Christ’s character full circle? Even though we may arrive at different answers, it is vital that we ask the questions of the role of Christian morality in these days.

What does it look like for me personally to fulfill my responsibility in the integrity of Christ? At the very least, the character of Christ in Scripture reveals His constant focus on the other person. He told stories, gave instruction, and made decisions that always took others in account before Himself. That means that whatever I decide about living in the world’s new normal, I must seek the betterment of others first. That defines if I will wear a mask, or walk the correct direction in the store aisle, or wear gloves, or hug my grandchildren.

How would you answer the question, “As I emerge from pandemic separation, what behaviors of mine best further the character of Christ?” We will arrive at different answers, depending in part on the personal circumstances that we take to our reading of Scripture. The important thing is that we ask this ethical question and allow it to be a civil part of our public conversation.

And one more Scriptural truth that is part of my fulfilling the integrity of Christ: when you arrive at different answers and contrasting behaviors than I, I should respect the decision that you make.  

To be masked, or not to be, is not the only question.

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