How To Be Tone-Deaf During a Crisis

In 2010, the commercial airline company - Spirit Airlines ran a travel advertisement with a woman in a bikini lying on a beach with a bottle of suntan oil next to her. The tagline of the ad simply read “Check out the oil on our beaches.” 

So what’s the problem? 

Well, a few months earlier, there was a tragic oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in April that year that killed 11 workers and heavily impacted the environment as over 200 million tons of oil got dumped into the Gulf. Needless to say, the ad was pulled.

This is an example of tone-deafness. 

Tone-deafness is an insensitive use of one’s words and actions in a situation demanding wisdom and sensitivity. 

Presently, our world is in a global pandemic. There is fear, anxiety, and sadness. There is also tone-deafness in the way some have responded to Covid-19. 

Here are 3 ways we can be tone-deaf in this present crisis:

1. Use the Crisis to Virtue Signal 

“Should this virus be called a “Chinese virus”? Isn’t that politically incorrect?” 

“Has the president done enough? This is an election year you know.” 

“God is humbling large churches by showing us small is the way to go.” 

When emotions are high and the situation is fluid, we can’t help but see an angle our passions predispose us to see. So we type, tweet, post, like, share, and retweet. 

But here’s the reality - this present issue is much larger than a tweet about race, politics, or church strategy. There are people who are dying. There are people who are sick. People have lost their jobs. 

This moment can’t be about leveraging a crisis to prove a point. Ironically, that would be missing the point.

2. Over-Individualize the Crisis

“This only affects those who are older.” 

“I don’t know anyone who has gone to the hospital.”

These kind of statements may be true to one’s experience but they reduce the seriousness of a global pandemic by deflating it with the needle of one’s own experiences (and inconvenience). There are other people who are still affected. 

The elderly are very important to our society because they are image-bearers of the invisible God. Many people have grandparents who are at risk. Some of our parents may be older as well. These are members of our churches and communities.

Hospitals are also experiencing a high volume of patients. Many surgeries are being canceled (unprecedented!) and doctors are operating in high exposure environments without all the medical equipment they need. 

It’s important that we’re able to see beyond ourselves as we try to assess and understand the situation around us.

3. Pin the Crisis On a Scapegoat 

“Those wet markets need to be eliminated.” 

“Did our officials have information months ahead?” 

“Why are those young people partying?” 

I want to blame someone when something goes wrong during dinner, so I can understand how it may feel therapeutic to blame someone for this pandemic. 

But if I believe that God is in control, that sin is real, and that our world is broken, it shouldn’t take long for me to realize that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.

This is a complex situation that pundits and experts will analyze in the years to come. 

In the meantime, we don’t have to look for someone to blame. There’s enough to deal with as it is. And crucifying someone publicly on Twitter won’t make the anxiety or anger disappear.

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Concluding Thoughts

I’ve been trying to walk into the following principles:

1. I don’t have to publicize everything. I have a lot of thoughts and I enjoy expressing them. But during this time, I’ve tried to remind myself that silence may be greater than a thousand words. It’s okay to not have a “hot take.” It may be better to have no take:

“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” (Proverbs 17:28)

2. I can pray about everything. Yesterday, I went on Instagram Live for my ministry to engage with our students. I felt the immense burden that others were presently experiencing. But I also experienced freedom and joy at the amazing privilege that I could bring anything and everything to the Lord in prayer.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

As followers of Jesus, we have an incredible opportunity to think, speak, and pray with the tone and character of Jesus.

Let’s make him look beautiful.