Tag: COVID-19

Exploring the Heart of Justice

In this post I reflected on a Biblical concept in light of the health crisis occurring at the time. That has resolved, but the ideas are still pertinent as our world faces new challenges that need just solutions. It highlights the importance of justice in decision-making, referencing a podcast outlining three types of justice. Additionally, it explores connections between righteousness and justice in the Bible, emphasizing the need for just behavior amidst crisis.

updated January 29, 2025

I wrote this post almost 5 years ago during a crisis I think most of us have forgotten. But there is always a new crisis to replace the last one.

I think the lessons I tried to convey in this post can be generalized to other situations, not just the one then, the COVID-19 pandemic. Read it with that in mind. Now to the original post from 2020.

We’re experiencing two pandemics; the medical one causing illness, suffering and death due to a ravaging disease and the economic one causing financial hardship, food insecurity, and job loss due to a devastated economy.

Families and businesses are making hard choices, choices in which fairness is important but difficult to achieve. I listened to a podcast (link below) that addressed this as a matter of justice, which I found worth thinking more about.

What is justice?

In the podcast, Dr. Celine Grounder interviewed Adam Grant, a psychologist and professor. She asked him what makes for a good leader in the kind of crisis we’re experiencing now. He replied the best companies and their leaders base decisions on justice and he described 3 types of justice.

  • distributive justice- making choices that lead to fair outcomes
  • procedural justice-making decisions through a fair and unbiased process
  • interpersonal justice-making decisions in a way that treats people with respect, dignity, and compassion

Understanding Biblical Justice

This idea caught my attention because I made an insight recently while reading the part of the Bible known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew chapters 5 through 7 include some of the Bible’s most well-known passages, some you may not realize are biblical. Have you ever heard these phrases?

  • eye for an eye
  • turn the other cheek
  • go the extra mile
  • the Golden Rule
  • pearls before swine

These phrases from the Sermon are attributed to Jesus and may not have been from a single sermon; the lessons it teaches may have been given at different times, the book Luke, contains some of the same messages.

In the Sermon as in other New Testament scenes, Jesus taught his followers how they should live their lives and one word he uses several times is “righteousness”.

a ceramic cross with the Beatitudes Matthew 5:3-10

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6, NIV

Righteousness sounds overtly religious, living bound by strict laws, emphasizing rule keeping, striving for perfection. As Richard Foster wrote, righteousness can consist of “control over externals, often including the manipulation of others.” (from Celebration of Discipline )

So I was surprised that one version, the New Living Translation (NLT), uses a different word for righteousness-justice.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6, NLT

Several other Bible verses suggest righteousness and justice are two aspects of the same concept.

  • The Lord loves righteousness and justice;the earth is full of his unfailing love. Psalm 33:5, NIV
  • The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. Psalm 103:6, NIV
  •  But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!   Amos 5:24, NIV

Reverend Erin Clifford explains both Old and New Testament Biblical justice in this short video.

Reflecting on these and other scriptures in I Am With You author Ann Spangler wrote this

“Righteousness is a Biblical word that means being in a right relationship with God, and with others. Injustice fractures and destroys relationships….

righteousness is “primarily a relationship, never an attainment; a direction, a loyalty, a commitment, a hope-and only someday an arrival” (quoting Addison Leitch)

social graphic from the LIGHTSTOCK.COM collection, an affiliate site

Practicing Justice

Farther in the Sermon Jesus tells the people to

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:33, NLT

This suggests that living justly isn’t merely thinking about justice, but behaving in a just manner, perhaps like the interpersonal justice Mr. Grant describes in the podcast.

some other thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:6 is from part of the Sermon known as the Beatitudes. learn more about it here

How to be blessed, happy, and healthy

And in the rest of the Sermon, Jesus goes on to describe some other criteria for living a righteous or just life. I’ll explore that further in another post.

Here is a link to the podcast if you’d like to listen.

EPIDEMIC- Good and Bad Bosses

“EPIDEMIC is a twice-weekly podcast on public health and the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19).  Hosted by Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who has worked on tuberculosis and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, and was an Ebola worker during the West African epidemic. And co-hosted by Ron Klain, the U.S. Ebola czar from 2014 to 2015.”

The COVID-19 pandemic may well be the defining moment of our times. Our lives have changed irrevocably. We need to understand the science so we can care for ourselves, our families, and our communities. And we need voices of reason to help us make sense of it all.

EPIDEMIC

In this episode, Dr. Celine Gounder talks to Adam Grant, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss

  • work during a pandemic and which companies are taking considerations to continue to take care of their employees, and which companies aren’t.
  • what good leadership during a crisis really looks like, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic may change the kinds of benefits that employers offer their employees.
  • how companies can improve their work-from-home culture, as well as how the pandemic may change people’s work-life/home-life balance permanently. 

Exploring the HEART of Health

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What more doctor bloggers are writing about COVID-19

Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we are learning from this pandemic is our need for social connection and community. Perhaps we can ask ourselves, what does it mean to build real community in care communities?

I’ve been reading what some other physician bloggers are writing about the COVID-19 pandemic. Here I share some of them with you. While I believe they are all reliable and honest sources of information, my sharing does not imply endorsement,complete agreement, or advice. This is a topic in which information changes daily if not more often, so all information is subject to change. Always consult the CDC and your state and local health departments for the most recent information that pertains to you.

What to do if you think you have COVID-19

Dr. Linda, a family doctor, explains what to do and what not to do if you think you have caught the coronavirus.

Don’t Panic. The majority of patients will get better without any treatment. I’ve seen many patients, even among those with no symptoms, with very high levels of anxiety. When we turn on the TV these days, it’s all about COVID-19. Remember that the news always shows the worst case scenarios. If watching it makes you more fearful, switch it off. You still need to get updates but limit your exposure to all the negativity aimed at you. Maybe, just check your state’s department of health sites to know what you need to be aware of.

Don’t Go to the ER Because You Think You Have COVID-19

EMERGENCY-sign
Photo by Pixabay
A COVID-19 Overview

Dr. Andrew Weil, well known as an integrative medicine proponent, wrote this overview of what we know about the coronavirus. He also offers his recommendations for vitamins and supplements that might be safe to take during the pandemic (although not known to prevent or treat the infection) and what substances you should avoid. I reviewed one of Dr. Weil’s books at this link.

Dr. Weil considers the following natural immune stimulating and antiviral agents as likely safe to take before and during a COVID-19 virus infection. However, we don’t know for sure whether any of them will affect the symptoms or severity of the infection.

illustration showing the coronavirus which causes COVID-19
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we are learning from this pandemic is our need for social connection and community. Perhaps we can ask ourselves, what does it mean to build real community in care communities?

Sonja Barsness , Changing Aging.org

If you are depressed and thinking about or planning suicide, please stop and call this number now-988

cover photo

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate with the World Health Organization (WHO), federal, state and local public health partners, and clinicians in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. CDC is closely monitoring the situation and working 24/7 to provide updates.

credit: CDC/James Gathany-public domain

exploring the HEART of health in a pandemic

I shared other COVID-19 blogs in another post . I hope you check out other posts from these physician bloggers.

Dr. Aletha
2 bandaids crossed on a world globe
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