Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

I was reading the latest Lutheran Witness the other day... there are some articles in it that address the pandemic, and some mention is made of the plagues and pandemics that have afflicted the world in the past, including the early church. How, often, Christians didn't run and hide in fear, but loved and served their neighbors -- even those who weren't Christian. Now, I'm sure not all Christians did that, and I'm sure that there are some Christians doing that today. But, in general, that doesn't seem to be the attitude of most today. Why is there such a difference? What did they have that we don't have?