Charles Horton, M.D., consults regularly for the Christian news magazine World. In the July 10 issue, he responded to someone who had challenged him to provide ten reasons to take the Coronavirus seriously. Here they are in brief. You can read his fuller discussion in the original article.

1. Case counts can rise quickly where they were previously low or had declined.

2. Supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) remains inadequate.

3. Use of PPE where available is often inadequate.

4. COVID-19’s mortality rate is definitely higher than that of seasonal flu.

5. Lasting effects for those who survive COVID-19 are more serious than those of flu.

6. Doctors are still learning how to treat COVID-19.

7. In some locations, hospital capacity is stretched and threatened.

8. There is growing hope that one or more effective, safe vaccines will be developed in record time—the implication of which seems to be that efforts to slow the spread now won’t be wasted by nearly universal spread in the long run.

9. The current surge of cases among the young won’t stay just with them because nursing homes depend on younger people as medical and service personnel.

10. Infection and death rates appear to be lower in countries that took strong measures to slow the spread than in those that took no measures or weaker measures.

Each of these reasons can be and has been debated by knowledgeable people. That’s a good reason to take seriously something else Horton says, something I think is perhaps the most valuable part of his article:

Let’s let our speech be seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6). Missteps by leaders on both sides of the aisle have led to mistrust among the public—mistrust of politicians, mistrust of medical specialists, mistrust of each other. Social media has done what it usually does, dividing instead of edifying, setting us at odds instead of helping us understand one another.

Let’s be the alternative to that kind of talk. Shouldn’t Christians look—and sound—different from the surrounding culture? As we engage with those around us, let’s ask not whether our words support a given political stance, but whether they reflect who we are in Christ.

I would add this: What Colossians 4:6 says is not only that our speech should be “seasoned with salt” but “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Perhaps Dr. Horton was working a little too fast. Salt can sting. Grace can prevent or soothe the sting even while telling uncomfortable truths.

Featured image adapted from a photo by Joel Holland on Unsplash.