Blog

by Eric Hansen

Editor's Note: The following post is not a pro or con position regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. What we are hoping happens with this post is that Christians will not only be objective in their research of this situation but to make certain they are reading God's Word, listening for the Holy Spirit's leading, and following that leading.

It’s been many months now since the vaccine for COVID-19 became publicly available. Since the start of that, there is no shortage of (mis)information, opinions, etc. about it. This post isn’t looking to tell you to get it or not to get it, but instead it will tackle this issue from the perspective of Christianity without fear.

Should I Get It?

It is a good thing to constantly ask this question. With much about the virus and the shot being new, there will be new information coming at you from every which way. No one but God can tell you to get it, but there are some ways to help navigate this question healthily.

Ignore the Noise

One thing, especially if your social media experience has been like mine, is to remove yourself from it. Take a step away from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and just give your brain some time to relax. The decision to get it or not is not simple, and the more influence you get from either side of the fence is only going to impact your health. If you don’t get the shot, but then get the virus and tell your Facebook “friends” you listened to them and now you’re in the hospital, what is the likelihood they will take responsibility for it?

The fact of the matter is that even if we want to point the finger, it’s our own decisions that lead us to where we go. All anyone else can do is influence you. If this wasn’t the case, then we would also be responsible for others’ salvation. So take time away from the platforms. If you have to, even take time away from friends and family to just collect yourself.

For me, I realized I needed to do this if I wanted to think about what was best for my family and me, and not just what I thought was right because people whose opinion I value said so. I’ve gone to the extreme of deleting my Facebook completely, but I would only suggest this if you find yourself constantly slipping back to it. Otherwise, just give yourself even a week or two of no social media.

Read the Bible

Most people will tell you to pray (myself included) when it comes to making any sort of big decision. That is only part of the solution, however. Often, we already look at prayer when we’re asking ourselves if we should get the vaccination. The more important piece now is what the answer is. This is where we need to keep ourselves quiet and let God speak out of His authority over us.

If we look at the situation literally, then we won’t find many verses that center around man-made chemical warfare viruses. We do have stories from the Old Testament, however, talking about how God gave plagues to the Israelites for their rebellion, but also how God gave them the cure as well (see Numbers 21:4-9). What we can gather from this is that our focus needs to be on God. That’s it. We don’t need to look at our news feeds, TV, etc. to know that God is the answer to this situation. Really, we just need to trust in His sovereignty. To know this requires us to read the Bible with a softened heart, opened eyes, and a real desire to know the truth.

When I started just focusing on the Bible, everything slowly became more clear. But I also had to remember that God doesn’t always speak to me directly. There were other things that happened during this time of me asking God for His guidance. One of the biggest things I can say was this: when the vaccine first came out, my wife and I agreed that until her aunt (who is a respected nurse) gives confidence one way or another, we won’t be getting it. During the time of reading the Bible, her aunt told us what her answer was.

We also need to consider if we feel peace with a certain decision. This is a sort of peace you know once you have it, because there’s a confidence that God is telling you so. It was through much conversation and discussion that we really started realizing what God was telling us to do. During this time, we also both agreed that if we were to get it and die, that we were confident in our salvation.

Feedback

By this point if you feel comfortable with separating fact from opinion, it wouldn’t hurt in the slightest to get others’ opinions. I asked a few friends who got the shot about why they got it, and I asked myself why would I ever get it. I still stayed away from YouTube videos about it as much as possible, and I kept trying to keep my focus on Christ. There were days that I slipped, but there were also days I rebounded with grace holding onto me.

Conclusion

I don’t see the shot being something everyone should get. I also don’t want to be part of that influence either way. What I do want is for people to look at the situation with objective lenses and understand the impact it has solely on them. If you have a partner, then feel free to get their feedback as well, it’s an important decision, but ultimately it impacts only you.

Ultimately my wife and I decided to get the vaccine, and here’s why:

• After weeks of prayer and time with God, it slowly started bringing more peace to me.
• We are looking to serve God overseas in the coming years, and this will likely be mandatory by then (we already see this happening now).
• After realizing my decisions had been fueled more by the voices around me instead of the voice inside (the Holy Spirit), I took a big step back.
• God is in control of everything. I’m going to die regardless, and if it’s something God wasn’t wanting me to get personally, then the experiences I went through wouldn’t have happened.

If you would’ve asked me even 3 months ago, my opinion would be “no, never” to the shot. But that was fueled by man, not by God. Again, I’m not saying God is going to tell everyone to get it. This post is written more so to help people understand how to approach this from a Biblical Christian view. Above all else, please put God first!

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.