Essential

This worldwide panic (not entirely unwarranted) is bringing up an important question. Here's what governments are telling us. "Stop all activities and stay at home. Oh, not 'all' activities. Just the nonessential ones." To which we all nod our heads and say, "Amen, brother!"

Without asking, "How do you define essential?"

My dentist has rescheduled teeth cleaning because that's nonessential. You can still get in to kill your unborn baby because that is essential. Churches are closed because that is nonessential. I can still buy a McDonalds Big Mac while shopping at Walmart because Big Macs are essential. Schools, they say, are not essential; daycare centers are. Because no one of school age, apparently, needs to be watched during the day while their parents work. Only those under 5. You can't get into a bar -- nonessential. You can still buy your marijuana -- essential. So how do we define "essential"???

Legally, "essential services" is defined as services that, if interrupted, would endanger life, health, or personal safety of the population. In that definition you can see that abortion is essential because we've understood for almost 50 years that killing babies is critical to life, health, or personal safety. Wait. That doesn't work. Federal guidelines allow states and localities to decide individually what is deemed "essential." So, clearly, things like food production and and delivery to the public would be essential. That's why restaurants that deliver are essential. Wait. That doesn't seem right, either. Health care is absolutely essential until you start splitting hairs to say that this healthcare is essential (like abortion) but that healthcare is not (like a colonoscopy). And no one would argue that it is essential that you can still get your favorite toys delivered to your home in a crisis, but package delivery in general might fall in the "essential" category, so all package delivery will be deemed essential ... even if the glut of deliveries that include some nonessential stuff delays essential deliveries.

I think we have a problem. I think that "essential" is elusive to us. We think it's clear and we think we have a firm grasp on the idea, but I'm not so sure. Neither was Jesus. When the good sister was running around doing all the good things for her Savior and the bad sister was simply listening to Him, the good sister complained. "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." (Luke 10:38-40) Jesus replied, "Only one thing is necessary." (Luke 10:42) We believers need to remember that. There are lots of concerns and lots of "essentials" that may or may not be, but only one thing is necessary. It is that relationship with the Savior, that sitting at the feet of the Master. It is listening to Christ. From there the good, the important, the helpful, the loving things are determined and accomplished and not by some arbitrary government listing of "essential."