As we consider reopening churches a lot of questions start to arise. Most of them surround safety. Yesterday my wife, Douwene Steyn Buchanan, overheard two customers at Kroger discussing this. The lady, who had a mask on, was shouting at an elderly man who did not have one on. She accused him of standing too close and berated him for not wearing a mask.

Would it not be wonderful if we all had this attitude? But, not towards COVID-19, but rather towards the much more contagious spiritual virus – sin.

In Psalm 125 we find out that nothing can harm us if we would do this by placing our “trust in the Lord”. In fact, we note that Yahweh (the Lord) will always “surround his people” “as the mountains surround Jerusalem”. Yahweh will not permit us to be tested beyond what we can endure so that He can keep us from doing wrong.

Friend, fear sin. Keep at least six feet away from it. Do not touch it at all – no elbow touch, fist bump, handshake or hug should even be considered. Then the Lord will do good to us. However, those who do not keep their distance will find themselves led away with evildoers.