I've found myself thinking a lot about Lot's wife, lately.
If you're unfamiliar with the story, during the destruction of Sodom, the only ones willing to stand against the culture of rape in the city, Lot and his family, are evacuating as the city is destroyed. They are warned not to look back, but Lot's wife does, and is promptly transformed into a pillar of salt.
I always hated that story. First off, the role the story of Sodom plays in the Church's long history of homophobia makes you want to skip it entirely, and the callus attitude to this unnamed woman who simply wanted to look back at her home as it was being destroyed always bugged me in Sunday School.
Years later, I've thought a lot of the claims made in 2nd Timothy concerning all scripture being God-breathed and useful. I used to have such arguments with my friends over that passage, but in more recent times I've found a great deal of comfort in it... I still don't believe it equals inerrancy, but the USEFULNESS of passages is always good to look for... and I think I have finally found the usefulness of the woman who became a pillar of salt.
As we sit in this time of Covid, we see a country being ravaged, not only in terms of health, but in terms of economics and social cohesion, and like Sodom, it becomes increasingly difficult to see our predicament as anything beyond the consequence of our own actions. Having embraced a culture of rape and xenophobia, the culture of Sodom was destroyed, and likewise, having accepted a culture of personal license, partisanship, and profit at all costs, we are being devastated, with warnings of worse to come unless serious changes are implemented.
Despite the repeated failings of those in positions of leadership, America's battle with Corona virus is not without its victories, and yet even as the curve started flattening, so many are eager to fling the doors wide again, and attempt to return to the status quo, even as it continues to burn down around them.
We've been shown, it the abruptest of terms, how our way of life is flawed, and opens us up to tragedy and destruction. And yet, so many of us just want to go back to the way it was before. As I watch the numbers of those infected increase in every state that reopens prematurely, including my own home of Wisconsin, I start to see the lesson;
Despite the repeated failings of those in positions of leadership, America's battle with Corona virus is not without its victories, and yet even as the curve started flattening, so many are eager to fling the doors wide again, and attempt to return to the status quo, even as it continues to burn down around them.
We've been shown, it the abruptest of terms, how our way of life is flawed, and opens us up to tragedy and destruction. And yet, so many of us just want to go back to the way it was before. As I watch the numbers of those infected increase in every state that reopens prematurely, including my own home of Wisconsin, I start to see the lesson;
It is natural to long for a return to a state of normalcy. But when that state is literally being actively destroyed by its own sins and failings, even those who escaped the initial destruction can be pulled back into it if they decide to turn back to that status quo.
From what I have read of those suffering from Covid-19, instantaneous transformation into an inert pile of salt might actually be the preferable consequence.
From what I have read of those suffering from Covid-19, instantaneous transformation into an inert pile of salt might actually be the preferable consequence.
