I, if I am anything, am an ocean of self. Self-centeredness is the core of my and every human existence. Rene Descartes summarizes this in his oft-quoted, “Cogito, ergo sum”.
I think.
I am.
This self-centeredness is every human’s basic instinct.
While we all feel the pull towards our own selfish nature, some are certainly drawn more than others. But even people who do a lot for others, inevitably find themselves turning their thoughts towards their own concerns. Jesus presses on us; he urges us to live our lives differently. “This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.” (The Message)
To quote Rick Warren’s opening line from Purpose Driven Life: “It’s not about you.” Warren’s opening line, inspired by his Christian values, flies in polar opposite to our human instinct of orienting toward ourselves and aligns with the command of Jesus. Jesus did not say: “This is my command: find self-love. This is the very best way to love. Put your life in front of yourself and love yourself.” Quite the opposite. Despite your inner desire to make it so, your life is not about you.
This might be a funny, rather odd way to start a piece on business.
Especially as a business, it is very much about commerce (in a capitalist structure) that benefits the one with the capitol. But my intention is not to focus this on my own business but on business in general.
And in general, businesses bless not only those with capital (via profit) but also employees (via compensation/wages) and customers (via the desired product). Here my hope is to benefit the many employees of the many businesses that are currently at risk.
The pandemic closed my business (and many others) for over 3 months. Re-opening gives us vital, fresh wind in the sails, income that is needed for owner and employee. Remaining-open is the first step in surviving the economic impact of the pandemic of 2020. Any and everything that threatens a return to healthy commerce is an enemy to business.
I’ll suggest that as we look around our country, we see some of the re-openings not done well. Businesses need partners in commerce, called customers, to partner with them and preserve stable trade amidst the unstable viral pandemic. And in many of these re-openings, we are seeing customers disregarding basic, common-sense practices. The result is an increase in viral pressure and illness, which causes businesses to re-close.
To the point: wearing a mask during this pandemic helps diminish the spread of the disease.
Slowing the spread of the virus allows businesses to remain open.
Wearing a mask is pro-business.
There remain some people opposed to covering one’s face. Some people talk about mask-wearing as something they will not do. I’ve seen arguments based on flimsy science about masks causing harm. Well, I’ll go along with those of you who feel this way as there are options to masks that fit your, in my opinion, ill-advised world view.
We call them face shields. And, from the scientists I’ve spoken to, they work nearly as well as a mask.
We all have a wise choice: mask or shield. The foolish decision is to not wear any face-covering. I imagine there will continue to be those who flaunt individual opinions in the face of struggling businesses. And fools who flaunt are fools who threaten.
The best science we have to date says covering your own face (with mask or shield) protects those around you. Science suggests that wearing a face-covering is not self-centered, but instead, science says this behavior is other-centered. This behavior protects others from the disease that is storming through our land.
Isn’t it remarkable that science is saying “love others more than yourself?” In this time of face-covering, Science has unmasked its Christian virtues. It’s not about you.
My desire is simple: keep my business open, keep my employees employed.
Please support local businesses by wearing a mask or shield.

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To my friends who follow Jesus,
This is a time to truly consider what I’ve written above. We have a commission to love others, serve others, and place others’ lives ahead of our own. Jesus leads the way to the Cross. You can lead the way with a mask or shield. Neither face-covering will kill nor harm you, and doing so is a small sacrifice. Yet it is not an easy sacrifice.
We have our selves to combat. We have habits and preferences that lie strewn, toppled over like that marketplace at the temple. Changes of this scale are not easy to negotiate. And this is not a sprint, it is a marathon. We cannot pretend that things will go back to the old normal anytime soon.
So, let us agree to a reasonable request that reasonable scientists have sent our way. Let us sacrifice our neediness. Let us take up the Cross of face-covering and lead the way. Let us encourage one another and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us! We will need every single ounce of encouragement in the days and weeks and years ahead.
“Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.”
Let us lead in love. Wear it.

Ethics Pandemic