Red, Yellow, Green

To ease the social awkwardness many of us are experiencing as we emerge from the pandemic, Metcalfe's Market in Wisconsin offers its customers and employees color-coded rubber bracelets when they walk in the door: red means stop, as in please maintain six-foot social distancing and avoid physical contact; yellow means caution, which translates to "elbows only" for those still exercising caution but not fully socially distancing; and green means go, welcoming handshakes and high-fives.

"As we continue to experience relaxed restrictions and updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related to COVID -- vaccines, face coverings, social, distancing, and so on -- we realized there would be different comfort levels with these changes among our team members and shoppers," said Tim Metcalfe, co-owner of Metcalfe's Market. The bracelets are a clear way for people to express their comfort levels without saying a word, he said.

Other retailers are picking up on the trend, including overseas start-ups, wedding planners, and even the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce in Virginia.

"If nothing else, it will probably put a lot of other folks at ease," one Metcalfe's customer said last week.

As we begin navigating social situations again, have you weighed your own comfort levels? Which bracelet would you choose -- red for "no contact," yellow for "elbows only," or green for "handshakes"?

Whether or not you would wear a bracelet boldly, our obligation as Christ followers does not stop at band-selection. Yes, we should make our convictions known and be prepared to biblically support the decisions we make, but Jesus did not emphasize sound decision-making as a ticket into the Kingdom. In fact, He reminded the disciples that most of us are not as "wise and learned" as we imagine ourselves to be (see Matthew 11:25).

Our greater challenge is to acknowledge and respect the bracelet choices of those around us. In other words, are you prepared to walk through the store observing the colors that others have chosen and loving them equally for the social boundaries they are requesting?

More importantly, are you able to enter social situations where no one is wearing colored bracelets and behave is if they are, respecting the preferences of others with equality, love, and joy?

We first hear the command to love our neighbors as ourselves when the Lord is speaking to Moses in Leviticus 19:18: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. And when the teachers of the law ask Jesus which commandment is the most important, he echoes both Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19:

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31)

So the challenge here actually is twofold: (1) Which bracelet will you choose? and (2) How will you anticipate the bracelets of others as you maneuver through your day, loving them for their choice as well?