Why Our Family Doesn't Wear Masks To Church

Upfront, please know that this is an explanation of our decision as a family and not a criticism of anyone else who has come to a different conclusion. 2020 has been crazy and most of us are just doing our best to navigate difficult waters. We’ve had some friends ask us to help them understand why we don’t wear masks. This is my attempt.

A lot has been written about Romans 13 this year for obvious reasons (submission to authorities). However, since where we live in Georgia has no mask mandates, I find Romans 14 to be more applicable to our situation. In it, Paul is addressing a schism in the church between those that believed it was a sin to eat meat that had been offered to idols and those that didn’t. He urges the Romans not to pass judgment on one another or quarrel over opinions. There are a variety of opinions on masks ranging from “they are vitally important” to “they are the first step of a totalitarian takeover!” Since scripture doesn’t directly address mask-wearing during a pandemic, it has to fall under the "meat offered to idols" category. Alistair Begg agrees.

Many have argued that wearing masks and limiting gatherings is how Christians should love our neighbors and protect our public witness during this pandemic. This argument starts with two basic assumptions.

1. The pandemic is serious enough to warrant giving up our liberty and upending society

2. Masks are helpful

Early on, our family did our part to follow the recommendations and observe the restrictions. We had limited information about COVID-19 at the time and it made sense to take steps to flatten the curve so our hospitals weren’t overwhelmed. After a couple of months, however, the curve had been flattened but the restrictions remained in place. Our leaders began talking about a vaccine timeline and living with the "new normal." The goalposts had been moved.

In the time since then, we’ve learned a lot more about the virus and the efficacy of masks. When discussing disputable matters, Paul says in Romans 14:5 that “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” My wife and I have become fully convinced that 1) the pandemic is not nearly as serious as we initially believed and 2) that masks are not helpful and are actually harmful to public health and societal well-being for a variety of reasons. I’m not writing this to persuade anyone else, but if you’re interested in learning how we came to these conclusions, I encourage you to check out: https://themodelhealthshow.com/maskfacts/

This, being a Romans 14 issue, naturally leads to the question: why can’t you just wear the mask for the sake of the “weaker brother”. That’s initially what we did. However, as the year wore on, wearing a mask became more and more performative as we would see and interact with people maskless during the week and then mask up when we went out in public or to church. We began to ask ourselves why we were doing it. Was it out of love for others or some other reason? It quickly became clear that we were wearing masks not because we believe in them and not because we were showing love for others. We were wearing the masks because we didn’t want others to think poorly of us; essentially giving in to emotional blackmail of the fearful and, in the process, reinforcing what we believe to be largely overblown fears. The loving act from our perspective is to resist the social pressure to wear a mask and encourage others to live without fear.

We also want to be honest about what we believe; to “Live Not By Lies” as Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn encouraged and Rod Dreher expounds upon in his excellent new book written to prepare Christians for coming persecution (highly recommended). We see this as an opportunity to teach our kids to stand apart from the crowd. It was no secret how we felt about masks at home, but every time we went out in public or to church, it felt hypocritical to put on the mask with their little eyes watching us. That’s not how we want them to live their lives. We want them to have convictions and be able to hold them when it’s unpopular. We want them to be able to disagree with prevailing opinions and explain why. They need to see that modeled.

I fully recognize that not everyone will share our perspective. We don’t judge anyone who holds a different view, and we readily admit that new information could change our minds. We have no desire for public confrontations and will put on a mask when store owners ask us to. We will keep a respectful distance from those that are nervous.

My encouragement to others is to spend time thinking about this issue. What assumptions are you making? What is motivating your behavior? Have you become fully convinced one way or the other in your own mind? If so, are you consistent? Romans 14 teaches us that we sin when we violate our conscience. If you believe wearing masks is the loving thing to do, do you wear them when around others that don’t? If you believe mask compliance will lead to an erosion of liberty, are you willing to be the only one not wearing one? Scripture should be our guide for handling these differences of opinion in the church. As Christians, let’s assume the best of each other and bear with one another in Christian liberty. It’s been a rough year, and we could all use a little more grace.

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