After the initial shock about the coronavirus (and adapting to restrictions) had passed, I began to be disappointed in some of the reactions of my countrymen in general, and of Christians as well. Yes, I too felt a bit restricted, anxious, fearful. But over the weeks, we’ve been inundated with “helps”:
- ways to minimize stress
- tips to conquer severe anxiety
- remedies for deep depression
- songs to lift your spirits
- methods for reducing fear
And those are presented in packages about “unheard-of circumstances” or “this difficult period of great need.”
But wait. People in certain other countries are perpetually in much worse situations—severe poverty, disease (and no access to doctors), government oppression, sex trafficking, outright persecution, no schools, slavery, not enough food . . . And then had the virus thing on top of that! Whoa. I began to be embarrassed and annoyed by how pathetically fragile we were looking. We gotta get a grip! was my thinking.
And right on cue, on a classic rock radio station, up came the song “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).”
The writer’s original intent of the dark message seems to have been to describe an LSD trip—in an attempt to influence young people to stay away from drugs. Regardless, the repeating phrase “to see what condition my condition was in” clicked with me, as far as describing a useful self-evaluation.
Yes, we can benefit from various helps these days—as on any day. But believers in the Lord, especially, certainly have no reason to exhibit desperation, to “[push] my soul in a deep dark hole and then [follow] it in.” We’ve got a job to do, right?
When we forget bottom-line truth, forget our hope and our purpose—forget our Lord Almighty!—and completely melt down, it might be time to just drop in and check on our condition’s condition.
