I have figured out how to stop the spread of the corona virus. 

When something frightens the whole world – like a virus – we look for ways to contain it, to isolate it and eradicate it. 

As of yet, the world has not found a way to successfully curtail the spread of this virus. But I have a solution that will get us moving in the right direction. 

I believe sports has the perfect answer. 

I remember when the SARS outbreak hit our country. We went into a defensive mode to try to keep clear of anyone who might be a carrier. 

In our church we put hand sanitizers all around our foyers and encouraged people to use them. We stopped shaking people’s hands when they arrived and left the church building. 

And we even stopped our greeting time – the portion of our service where we say hi to one another and employ the good, old fashioned handshake. We cut it from our service altogether, and this important element was gone. As a church we lost some intimacy. 

Well, I can see us heading back in that same direction at church. 

The other day I still shook hands with many people, but I also did a number of fist bumps, elbow touches, and fake high fives.  

… One thing no one did was the bump – you know, that dance move from the 70’s. Funny … no one wanted to give me the bump.

So how will we keep corona from spreading? We need a way to separate ourselves from one another while we still function in community. We need a method that communicates to another person but enables us to keep a good distance. 

Football offers us a solution if we were to employ the usage of play signals. We could stop shaking hands and instead call out play signals to convey our warm greetings when we see each other. 

The signal might be “right, 5-90, Philadelphia, extend hut”. That could stand for “right” hand “5” fingers, arm at “90” degrees, “Philadelphia” is the city of brotherly love and “extend” your arm.  

… That could work, but this virus travels airborne so speaking could even be an issue. 

The best solution comes from baseball. Just watch a catcher do his thing behind the plate. By just using signals, he tells the pitcher exactly what kind of pitch to throw.

There is no talking and they can do it from a far distance. The catcher and pitcher are 60 feet from each other and they communicate perfectly.

We could have baseball signals that let people know we are happy to see them and look forward to having a great conversation with them when the corona virus threat is over. 

Problem solved!

Here’s the thing: To contain, isolate and eradicate sin in our lives, communication is the first step we need. Stopping the spread of sin in you life begins when you approach God with confession. Any other steps need to stem from this first one. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to communicate with God that you’ve held in isolation for a while now? Leave your comments and questions below.