To wear a mask or not wear a mask? Try to envision what God might have us do | Opinion

People say all sorts of things pro and con regarding precautionary measures in light of the COVID-19 caronavirus pandemic. One should exercise common sense and good judgment as to when to pay attention and take seriously some of these statements and when to ignore them.

Sometimes, opinions from people we disagree with can remind us about important principles on how we treat each other in times of crisis.

I read a report of a state representative, outside of South Carolina, who adamantly stated that he will not wear a mask. Despite the governor of his state ,who is from his own political party, who urged everyone to wear face masks to protect public health, this elected official refuses to do so.

According to newspaper reports he said, “This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.“

The state representative went on to say, according to newspaper wire reports, “When we think of image, do we think of a chest or our legs or our arms? We think of their face. I don’t want to cover people’s faces. That’s the image of God right there and I want to see it in my brothers and sisters.“

Let’s not get into the theological debate just yet, or the argument whether or not public health officials are right to request citizens to wear face masks.

But maybe he is right to remind us that faces matter. That is, looking into the eyes without the context of the entire face does at first glance limit our encounter on a visual level with the person.

In fact, I have read reports that health care workers in hospitals have begun wearing small pictures of themselves while working with their patients so that they can see more of the person, even if they are wearing a mask. They believe such a strategy helps the patients feel more at ease and comfortable with the people taking care of them.

Once again, it is the human factor of nursing and medical care that is the center of our focus here.

I agree with the elected official that the Torah says God created humans in the divine image. The question is: Do we take that idea of image only literally, or are there different aspects of the divine image that deserve our attention?

Out of my religious tradition and teachings, I see the divine image as referring not only to the literal body frame God created in the image of Adam and Eve. Instead the divine image also means to me the idea of humankind living by values and morals that God wanted us to embrace and live by in our lives.

Is God concerned more about how we look or how we behave?

The story of Cain killing Abel or Eve and Adam not picking fruit form the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden all represent stories about ungodly behavior. Remember in Leviticus 19:1 God spoke to the entire Israelite community, ”You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.”

God is concerned not only about how individuals behave in a holy manner but how communities conduct themselves according to God’s laws. The individual belongs to a greater body, called community.

This is a key point where people are struggling right now when it comes to our willingness and obligation to protect and care for the American people in a pandemic.

The elected official refers to citizens as “brothers and sisters.” If that is how he truly feels about his constituents then what would he do for his brothers and sisters to help them stay alive?

What are we willing to do to prevent our brothers and sisters in this community from contracting this horrid virus?

Does wearing a mask violate a divine principle, or does it mean fulfilling exactly what God wants us to do?

If we believe that God created us in the divine image and that all humans are our brothers and sisters then what are we willing to do to protect them?

Is this not God’s law — to treat life as sacred? Aren’t Gods laws about treating other humans — who have the same divine image in them as we do in us as — with the utmost concern to save lives?

If the answer is yes, then please put on a mask for the time being. You are making a difference in your brothers’ and sisters’ eyes, and hopefully in God’s eyes too.

Rabbi Brad Bloom of Hilton Head Island writes on matters of faith.