Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott decided to lift our statewide mask mandate and allow Texas businesses' to open at 100% capacity, effective March 10, 2021. This sparked outrage and conversations about the mask mandate, and in this discourse, people began to bring religion into the mix.

In this discourse, some people claimed that God would not want people to wear masks, or to be afraid.

One Bible Verse listed that has been used multiple times is Psalm 34:4-5, which states, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."

Let it be clear, this Bible Verse has absolutely nothing to do with literal masks. In fact, ironically, this bible story is about David running away from Saul who was trying to kill him and finding refuge among others who were escaping a difficult life. They came together to stay safe, and thanked God they were safe.

An important lesson in Christianity, or as I was taught growing up in Catholic school and parish, was to be a steward of creation.

The idea behind being a good Steward of Creation is that nothing in this world belongs to us, it all belongs to God. Everything we have and experience is a gift from God. So, we have a higher duty and must take care of everything in this world as well as each other while we're here.

A bible verse I think is a great example of the importance of Stewardship is 1 Corinthians 9:17, which reads, "For I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship."

It is baffling to me to hear Christians claim they don't need to wear masks because God can protect them. I'm simply at a loss for words. We were taught (in Catholic school) that all these miracles Jesus performed, were just that, miracles. They weren't something to be taken lightly, or to be taken for granted.

Furthermore, we were also taught it is a mortal sin to knowingly sin and plan on just going to confession because God forgives. You simply can't knowingly sin and then go, 'that's okay because Jesus died for our sins and God forgives!' No. That's not what being a good Catholic is supposed to be. You're supposed to live by the Ten Commandments, refrain from sin, and be a good steward of creation.

As I explained, being a good steward of creation is taking care of the world and those around you. Wearing a mask is to protect yourself as well as others. God does not always perform miracles and it is selfish to potentially fatally harm those around you because of your 'religious belief' that God will protect. God calls us to protect the world around us, we don't potentially put others at risk and then call for him to protect others.

We are servants of Christ, we serve Christ and we serve those around us. We should never intentionally harm those around us, and failure to wear a mask is failing to be a good Christian.

I end with this simple Bible Verse from Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."