Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 3
Hans called the “I’m not 70, I’ll be fine” posture “kind of a selfish way of looking at it” and framed response as caring for the elderly; how does that challenge common evangelical ways of talking about “freedom,” personal rights, and “not living in fear”?
Another way to ask: Why is “I’m not old, I’ll be fine” a selfish way to think during a crisis? How does that challenge the way Christians talk about freedom, rights, and “not living in fear”?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Hans’s point challenges a “freedom” mindset that centers on personal risk tolerance, because he reframes the issue as responsibility toward vulnerable neighbors—especially the elderly—rather than self-protection or self-assertion. In the transcript, love is shown as choosing behavior changes for others’ sake, not because we are personally afraid.
- Hans explains the low-risk posture: people look at statistics and say, “I'm not 70 years old… I’m probably going to be okay,” and he calls that “kind of a selfish way of looking at it.”
- He insists we must look through the lens of “how do we care for the elderly… our grandparents or the older people at church.”
- He adds that for them “it may not be just a bad flu,” and says statistics show you’re “much more likely to die from this than… the flu.”
- He ties care for the elderly to being “pro-life,” valuing “the lives of the elderly” too, since “this is who this virus really preys on.”
- Later, he urges limiting outings and not having people over for dinner, emphasizing community-minded restraint.