Agents of discord

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I watch with great concern how some Christians (and Christian leaders at that) spit fire on other Christian leaders who are bold enough to take to the media to tell the Church and wider society to get vaccinated. Somewhere in the midst of all of this, labels such as “antivaxxers” get thrown around. And the proponents of the vaccine (specifically the COVID-19 vaccine) are met with opposition and name-calling to the effect of “so-called pastors” and “leaders who endorse evil”. Really? We ought to examine this matter carefully.

It is to one’s honour to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel (Proverbs 20:3, NIV). Is it right (or wrong) for Christian leaders to encourage their congregants to get vaccinated (or to not get vaccinated)? Some argue that the Church ought to be silent on the matter. Let the medical practitioners do that! Others posit that no church leader should encourage people to do anything that boils down to a matter of personal decision. My observation is that while the Christian pro-vaxxers (I call them this for the purpose of this discussion only) are busy encouraging congregants and the wider society to get vaccinated against the dreaded COVID-19, the COVID-19 antivaxxers are busy attacking their character, questioning their calling, casting doubt on the authenticity of their salvation (which is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not in the promotion of a medical procedure to decrease the risk of becoming critically ill or dead should you come in contact with the SARS-CoV-2), and claiming that they are leading people astray. Which of the two groups fits the category of an agent of discord?

An agent of discord is anyone who says or does things to inspire distrust among a group of people. If distrust gets an opportunity to strengthen, it will cause quarrels and fights, disunity, division. This is one of Satan’s most effective tools against the Church. Let us not be ignorant of the enemy’s devices. When did the vaccine become tied to one’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or one’s calling in the kingdom of God? Let us not make it into something that it is not. One says that person takes the jab because of fear, another says that person won’t take the jab because of fear. What you choose to do is your personal decision, but for the sake of the Kingdom of God, do not be an agent of discord!

TASHI CAMPBELL