(ThyBlackMan.com) Let me ask you a serious question. Do you think that God gets angry? I’m not asking you this question rhetorically, I’m asking you actually. How you answer that question reveals the depth of your own relationship with The Lord. Of course God gets angry. The things which anger our Heavenly Father should rightfully answer His people. In my not-so-humble opinion, some senseless comments and prehistoric beliefs which have been flying about the last couple of weeks on the topic of the current Ebola virus are beneath us. These reptilian views must make The Lord angry. They’ve made many Christians angry. They’ve made me angry. I call this apathetic condition Ebola madness. And it must be dealt with.
Nearly all of us are quite familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan as found in Luke 10:25-37 of the Holy Bible. When Jesus Christ was asked directly by the law expert what he needed to do in order to secure eternal life, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus identified your neighbor to be any human
being in need of assistance. The 1069 people in West Africa who have already died in West Africa from the Ebola virus were our neighbors. The citizens of West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa who have been infected with Ebola – or are at risk of being infected – are our neighbors and friends. Nations doing all they can to combat the disease, the United States and Canada, are Samaritan states.
Organizations dedicating their resources to help those who are infected while working to protect those who are uninfected, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are Samaritan groups. The doctors and missionaries who are doing God’s work in the parts of Africa where Ebola is spreading are Good Samaritans in every sense of the word. These people are heroes. They are literally risking their lives to love their neighbors as themselves. John 15:13 of God’s Word reminds us “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Greater love hath no man than Nancy Writebol. Mrs. Writebol is employed by Serving in Mission (SIM) in Liberia. She contracted the Ebola virus while assisting the joint SIM/Samaritan’s Purse team in offering treating to Ebola patients in Monrovia. Shamefully, some Americans didn’t want her – one of our own citizens – brought back to the U.S. for treatment. Despite the fact Mrs. Writebol was near death.
Greater love hath no man than Dr. Ken Brantley. Dr. Brantley is the medical director for Samaritan Purse’s Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia. He had been in Africa working tirelessly to treat patients in a missionary hospital there since last October. Inexplicably, some Americans didn’t want him – a man renowned for his kindness – transported to Emory Hospital for medical attention. These people criticized President Obama and certain governmental agencies for their efforts to give Dr. Brantley a chance to survive. Dr. Brantley – a married man with children – steadfastly insisted that Mrs. Writebol receive treatment with the experimental anti-Ebola drug ZMapp before he did.
The usual suspects simply couldn’t help themselves. Donald Trump tweeted: “Ebola patient will be brought to the U.S. in a few days – now I know for sure that our leaders are incompetent. Keep them out of here!” and “Stop the EBOLA patients from entering the U.S. People that go to faraway places to help out are great – but must suffer the consequences!” Was Mr. Trump suggesting that Dr. Brantley and Mrs. Writebol should have been left to die? Super-conservative Columnist Ann Coulter suggested that these two American missionaries got what was coming to them for working in the “disease-ridden cesspools” of Africa. She called Dr. Brantly “idiotic” for helping to heal those who are sick there. Shortly thereafter, a few Republican Congressmen suggested some of the children at the U.S. Border Patrol detention centers might also have Ebola – despite the fact this virus has never been reported anywhere in Latin America.
How ironic is it that viral infections practice equal opportunity? Bacteria is no respecter of socioeconomic status, race, political affiliation, gender, age, system of faith, or marital status. It’s too bad that we human beings are unable or unwilling to see each other the exact same way.
Dr. Brantly and Mrs. Writebol are recovering nicely.
Ebola madness is out there. It’s easily contracted by those who are prone to hatred, fear, and selfishness. If your friend, family member, or spouse were infected with Ebola, you would want them medically treated. You would demand that. Tell the truth. Don’t make God angry.
Staff Writer; Arthur L. Jones, III
This talented brother is a local Minister, weekly featured Democratic Op-Ed columnist, non-profit advisor, and sees the Braves winning it all this fall. Rev. Jones welcomes your comments! Please email him directly at: tcdppress@gmail.com.
