Am I Changing the World

You are the salt of the earth…

You are the light of the world…

         Matthew 5:13-14 NIV  

     One time won’t hurt! Don’t rock the boat! Just do it! It will be okay; no one will know! It won’t hurt anyone! Life presents many opportunities to succumb to peer pressure. But each time we go along with the crowd because we do not want to stand out in the crowd we allow the world to change us.

     In chapter five of Matthew, Jesus explains the consequences of refusing to be salt and light to our world. In verse fourteen, He reminds us that by our refusal to flavor our world with Christ-like behavior, we become like salt that has lost its ability to flavor.

     That is a difficult concept for us as we see a box of Morton’s sitting in the cupboard month after month and year after year knowing that whenever we pull it out to sprinkle our food, it remains useable salt. However, at the time Jesus walked on the earth, when salt was exposed to too much moisture the good portion of the salt would evaporate leaving only tiny rocks. It became flavorless and useless for preserving foods. Therefore, like that old-world salt, Christians who refuse to affect the world around them are of little value in making God known in the world.

     Jesus continued in verse fifteen by explaining that we are the light of the world. We should glow for Jesus. But, by refusing to speak out for Christ, by remaining silent in the face of sin, by choosing to ignore the needs of others or by going along with the crowd we activate the dimmer switch on our light and are no longer valuable in drawing others to Jesus.

     Our world is filled with desperate hurting people who are seeking the Savior. Striving to fill life with possessions and relationships, many come to the end of their days still trying to understand what they missed and how they missed it—never knowing the fulfillment of life that is found in Christ alone.

     So each day we face the decision of whether we want to be salt and light to a world in need. Each day we must choose how to answer two questions. Is the world changing me, or am I changing the world?

 

© Joyce Powell