When God created mankind, He had two choices as far as our internal makeup is concerned. He could either have created us with wills that he totally controlled thus making us little more than robots or he could have created us with wills that we totally control – obviously He chose the latter.
Sadly, our first ancestor, Adam, chose to disobey God by exercising his free will and as a result fellowship and relationship with God was severed. Not only was this relationship severed but as a result sin entered the world and with sin came evil, suffering and death. And like it or not all of mankind has not only been given free will but inherited Adan’s sin nature.
Not only has all of mankind sinned but our entire planet is under a curse because of sin. Before Adam and Eve sinned there was no sickness and disease but because of sin both sickness and disease entered our world; with COVID being the latest of these horrors.
The question before us is does the American government have the right to override a person’s free will to decide if they should take the COVID vaccine?
While governments have the right to establish laws, the question is when do these laws violate a person’s conscience and free will to decide on personal health issues. First, a disclaimer – I got my COVID vaccine last April. And while I generally support the vaccine I also support an individual’s freedom of choice when it comes to their own personal health. While there are many arguments to support getting the vaccine, there are many reasons a person may choose to not get it. For example, they may have already gotten COVID and have natural immunity. They may not want to take something so new that we don’t understand the future negative effects. Or they may have a religious reason or an issue of conscience.
So how do we decide what to do about taking the vaccine? I believe, that just as God gives us free will to make the most important decision in our lives – what will we do with Jesus and as a result where will we spend eternity – our government should also allow us to decide if we want to take the vaccine based on our own analysis and health concerns.
Of course, some will say that by not taking the vaccine you may put the health of others in danger. While this may be true to some extent just living life does the same thing. For example, we allow tobacco companies to sell cigarettes knowing that they are very harmful to one’s health. Or doctors recommend chemotherapy for cancer patients knowing that for many the side effects can be very dangerous and even hasten death. And we give people the freedom to speak their mind knowing that wrong words and gossip can destroy a person’s reputation. And that’s the point, with freedoms come the potential for harmful consequences.
To take away the free will to decide on our own personal health concerns, basically puts our government in a position where they are playing a role greater than God. Free will and freedom of choice are hallmarks of a free society and if we are stripped of these freedoms we will no longer be a free country. Governments do play a role in our lives but when they start taking away our freedoms, I believe, they are exceeding the role that God would want them to have.
For our President and many state and local leaders to unilaterally impose vaccine mandates on individuals, under the threat of losing their jobs, if they don’t take the COVID vaccine, in my opinion, is Unamerican and unbiblical. As I have shared earlier since God gives us all the free will to decide on our eternal destiny, it strikes me as the height of arrogance that our own United States government would take away our freedom to decide over such an important personal health decision.
Not allowing an individual the freedom of choice on whether to take the COVID vaccine or not is immoral and strips that individual of his dignity to make his own decisions. I like the way J. P. Moreland puts this whole issue into perspective when talking about the far more important issue of heaven:
“If you were to force people to do something against their free choice, you would be dehumanizing them. The option of forcing everyone to go to heaven is immoral, because it’s dehumanizing; it strips them of the dignity of making their own decision; it denies them their freedom of choice; and it treats them as a means to an end. When God allows people to say ‘no’ to him, he actually respects and dignifies them.”1
1 TOP 19 QUOTES BY J.P. MORELAND | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
Amen! Thank you for this insight.