On Friday, May 28^th, I was in a classroom during Chaplain Basic Training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. One of the instructors announced that everyone who had been fully vaccinated could take their masks off.

The 90 students started to look around. About half of us could see each other’s faces for the first time.

I remember thinking, as new friends revealed themselves for the first time, “wow, you look like THAT???”

The rest remained masked despite multiple invitations by the Army to receive a vaccine.

I was confused. Why were so many of my peers who worked as religious leaders opposed to the vaccine? One of the main tenants of the Christian faith is to love thy neighbor as thyself. Getting a vaccine is about more than protecting myself, I am also vaccinated to protect my neighbors.

None of my peers provided me scriptural justification for their decision. They just didn’t want it, trust it, or had personal beliefs that prevented them from getting it.

In Minnesota, we are aware of the implications of someone refusing the vaccine without providing their reasons. When Kirk Cousins missed time during the Minnesota Vikings preseason because he was a close Covid contact, his stance on refusing a vaccine was a “private matter.”

His father, a pastor in Orlando, is vocally against masks and vaccines and uses scripture verses like 2 Timothy 1:7, “for God has not given us a spirit of fear…” as justification to avoid them. In regards to Covid, Kirk has said “if I die, I die.”

But my question back to Kirk is, if you unknowingly transmit the virus to others and they die, how does that align with your faith in Jesus?

Many places of employment are beginning to require vaccinations from their employees. Religious exemptions are one way that people can evade vaccination, but religious exemptions are also difficult to prove.

In fact, religious beliefs should be the reason why churches should be the loudest advocate for full vaccination.

There’s an old tale about a man who is stuck on top of his roof in a flood, so he prays to God for help.

A few minutes later, a man in a rowboat comes to save him. The man says, “No, I’m praying to God to save me.”

Then, a motorboat passes by and stops. Again, the man explains to the people in the motorboat “Thank you, but I’m praying to God and my faith will save me.”

A few minutes later, a helicopter hovers overhead and tosses down a ladder. The man waves the chopper away just as the water washes over the house and claims his life.

In heaven, the man asks God why he wasn’t saved from the flood despite his faithful devotion. God replied, “There was a rowboat, motorboat, and a helicopter… what more did you expect?”

I continue to read stories about people dying in the hospital who say “I wish I would’ve gotten the vaccine.” If you or someone you know is reluctant to get vaccinated, consider that the vaccine might be God’s way of helping save you and your loved ones.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear. Sounds like good scriptural advice to me.