Hope for This Present Crisis by Michael Youssef

Author:Michael Youssef [Michael Youssef]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Charisma House
Published: 2021-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

A Double Standard

There was a disconnect between the way state and local governments responded to the protests versus the way those same governments treated other citizens and groups, including churches. When the protests spread nationwide, the governor of New Jersey said, “I support these protests and I thank the thousands of residents who peacefully and respectfully took part. . . . Peaceful protesting is the way we get to a better place.” No argument there. Peaceful protests are an American tradition going back to the Boston Tea Party.

But then the governor went a step too far: “It’s one thing to protest what day nail salons are opening and it’s another to come out in peaceful protest overwhelmingly about somebody who was murdered right before our eyes.”14

Just a moment, Governor. Yes, it’s a sacred constitutional right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for the redress of grievances—and the unjust death of George Floyd grieves us deeply. But the government should not be so dismissive of the right of the people to earn a living. During the coronavirus emergency, some businesses were deemed “essential,” while others were “nonessential.” The governor of New Jersey may not think a nail salon is an “essential” business—but to the people who built that business and to the employees who work there, that nail salon is absolutely essential to their lives and their families.

The Declaration of Independence tells us that we are endowed by God with “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The right to earn a living is basic to life, liberty, and happiness. During the coronavirus crisis, “We the People” willingly set aside our “unalienable rights,” but the government should not take our sacrifice for granted. The governor of New Jersey thanked the protesters, but did he ever thank the citizens and businesses and churches for their sacrifice? No.

Even as the governor praised the protesters, he kept churches closed. In fact, churches wouldn’t begin to reopen until two weeks after the governor made those remarks—and only on an extremely restricted basis. Church buildings that seated two or three thousand people could have easily accommodated hundreds of worshipers with “social distancing”—yet the New Jersey governor mandated a maximum of fifty worshipers in any church service, regardless of the size of the building. The restrictions were simply arbitrary and unjust.

As the Declaration of Independence reminds us, “to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”15 “We the People” expect our leaders to use their authority to respect and defend our rights.

It would have been refreshing to hear governors and health officials in every state say, “We understand the incredible sacrifices you make by closing your businesses and houses of worship. We understand you are voluntarily setting aside your sacred rights and even your livelihoods to lower the death toll of this virus. We promise not to keep your businesses and houses of worship closed one minute longer than is absolutely necessary.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.