1 Corinthians 10:24 might be buried in a discourse about meat sacrificed to idols that seems to have little connection to the modern reader (but it does), yet its message is nevertheless very clear:
No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
How could it be any plainer than that?
“But my FREEDOMS!” comes the cry. If you are a Christian—and if you are not, please come back another time as this one is not really for you—then my response is equally simple: “So what?”
This whole section in Corinthians is about choosing to limit your freedom in Christ, and by extension into anything, for the good of others and yourself. What this means is that you should wear a mask and get vaccinated, and, if necessary, shut down things you might want to do for the good of others. Your comfort is irrelevant. Your understanding of science or the lack thereof is irrelevant. Your rights to choose are irrelevant. If you are a Christian, your driving motivation is 1 Corinthians 10:24 and nothing else.
“But it’s my body!” Really? Is that a consistent part of your political platform? Regardless, as part of a society, that is not 100% true. We have already established, a long time ago, that individuals have to take precautions for the sake of others. You have to have an immunization record before starting school or college. You have to wear your seat belt. In every marginally sane state in the country, you have to wear a helmet while driving a motorcycle. The law set a precedent that you have to limit your freedom for the sake of yourself and others. If I have to shovel the snow off the sidewalk just in case someone walks by and slips, then you should have to wear a mask just in case. Further, when it comes to disease, your body is just a link in a chain. A virus enters your body, replicates, and spreads. Worse than that, it enters your body, mutates, replicates, and then spreads. Mutations create more dangerous strains and lead to more deaths.
“But I am healthy and take care of myself!” Really? Better than an Olympic athlete? What secret part of your health-care regime did the 612,000 Americans who have died in this pandemic not do? Yes, there are health precautions than can lower your chances of contracting disease and make it less severe when you get it, but that doesn’t completely prevent you from getting it. After that, see my previous point. Once you get it, you become a Vector. It’s like you are a bucket being carried by a toddler, slopping out splashes everywhere you go. Besides, it is not about you.
“But I don’t believe (insert thing here)!” First, learn how to evaluate and weigh evidence. Acknowledge that you are not an epidemiologist, nor is your family doctor, chiropractor, or that person who sells you essential oils. Trust people to be experts in their areas of expertise. Second, the vaccine has been proven safe to a margin of error that makes it safer than driving a car, swimming in a pool with a lifeguard, or even buying produce; masks have been repeatedly shown to have no actual physical hindrances, simply psychosomatic ones. Ultimately, it comes down to a choice between you doing something that you do not think will help you versus doing something that might help someone else. See above verse.
“But I don’t want to!” At least you are being honest. Nevertheless, no one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
If 999 people must do things they do not like… If they must wear masks and take a vaccine… If they must cancel events and go back to quarantine… If they must do even more than that… If it bothers the 999 but it protects 1 person, then we as Christians should do it and be glad for the chance to serve our God and fellow human.