"Living Intentionally Christian (amidst others) in a time of Coronavirus Social Distancing"

How is one to live in and amidst all people, while not becoming of the people? This has become a challenging task during the last two months of social distancing? There have been a variety of responses to legal regulations and best practice recommendations. It has been easy for those who take a law-abiding and "you will do well if you follow these practices" approach" to regulate themselves. However, at the same time those who "push the envelope" or because of having different experiences or family have a hard time following those guidelines are not so able to follow them perfectly and may come under the judgement of the others. What are some Christian principles for guiding those who are trying to intentionally follow Christian and best neighbor guidelines?

First, cut all people a lot of slack. We are living in extraordinary times where "we are doing the best we can under the circumstances." People are grouped in many varieties of family and have many different needs. Consider "walking in the moccasins of the other before judging them." Second, loving your neighbor as yourself means forgiving yourself and your neighbor. If we are following Christ we know there are times when we all fail and falter. We do not live our lives perfectly. Many of us drive 62 miles per hour in a 55 hour zone because we know the law won't be administered toward us and, after all, we are just doing what the law really wants us to do-- not drive faster than 62! If we can so easily rationalize that accommodation to our imperfection, Christian neighboring means that we should have the same feeling of forgiving caring for those who do not follow social distancing and masking perfectly. Third, consider the social nature of people and how these circumstances are restrictive to all of our natural instincts. We know people are very different in their social orientation, ranging from shy introverts to raging extraverts. Consequently, some will find it naturally easier to s

tay distant from others. During this time we need to respect them more than ever. When in my ministry situation we have reached out to those who are most vulnerable socially, we have found some who are reluctant to join. It is not because they do not need some social contact, but it is just that they only will seek among those they know and will be fine with that. We need to learn to respect them, even as introverts need to understand that reaching out is part of our neighbor love.

Living intentionally should mean doing our best to be tolerant, respectful and caring of others. If we follow these principles we will get through this time of social distancing. We will emerge on the other side in a new normal where we can learn to care for one another without either forgetting those outside of our normal sight or smothering those we love.