I confess to not being a fan of basketball or the NBA. I have not watched an NBA basketball game in about a decade. Basketball players do not have a good reputation, either for their sportsmanship (or lack thereof) on the court or for their actions off the court.
The sport’s most famous current star, LeBron James, is taking his marching orders from China, despite already being a multi-millionaire set for life. When the league went into hyper-woke mode last year, a lot of folks said they’d stopped watching a long time ago, so they could not exactly boycott in protest—but they wished they could.
But Jonathan Isaac is one very impressive young man. Isaac is a Christian and is active in ministry in Orlando. He is not vaccinated. Because he has recovered from Covid and presumably already has the anti-bodies, he’s decided not to get the jab.
In the video clip below, he is grilled for over nine minutes about his vaccination status. His responses are calm, measured, well balanced, and reasonable. He is not saying that no one should take the vaccine, only that everyone should be free to make that decision of his or her own free will.
Toward the end of the press conference, he is asked how his Christianity —"I know you’re a deeply religious person, a man of faith”—affected his decision on vaccination. He responded:
“When it comes to being religious, I think God calls us all to be wise. I think there are people who believe that Jesus is alive, that he’s a protector, that he’s a healer, that he’s a friend that you can trust in before you trust in any man, and I’m not ashamed to say I’m one of those people.”
But he is also very careful to note that God could be leading one person to take the vaccine, and another similarly situated person to not take the vaccine. If both are following their consciences, he will stand with both:
“Everyone should be free to make their own decision and choice. And I feel that God could be leading two different people in the same place in two completely different directions, and if their conviction is, as a believer or as any faith, that ‘I decide to take the vaccine,’ then I’ll stand with them, and if there’s anyone who says, ‘based on my belief and my conviction, I don’t want to take it,’ I’ll be right there to stand with that person, as well.”
Again, this is one very impressive young man.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” — Ephesians 4:29