Being salt and light
Matthew 5:13-16, states, “13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
In this declaration, to be salt and light, we can gather quite a bit of info about what and how to be, act or live. My approach this time will take a different tact, what and how not to be.
Let me say first up that I completely agree with the merits of salt and light as traditionally understood in these scriptures. There are attributes to living this way, but can we, as Christians, take it too far?
In other words, have you ever met an obnoxious, but well-intentioned Christian? All of us have observed the good intentioned but overbearing, heavy-handed approach practiced by some in the faith.
Have you ever tasted something that was so laden with salt it made your mouth cringe? While salt in proper measure is useful, too much salt used erroneously can have bad side effects. Some Christians thoughtlessly pour their salt into people’s wounds. When someone is bleeding from a damaging life event, they don’t necessarily need the, “I told you so,” to “If only you would have listened.” Salt on an open wound is extremely painful, and sometimes we need to apply the balm of Gilead, a soothing ointment that covers and heals instead of adding to the pain and misery. Sometimes when people are hurting, they don’t need us to be salt; they need us to be the oil of the Holy Spirit.
As it concerns light, we should give off enough light so the people around us can see which direction they should be going. We shouldn’t hide our faith no matter what, but some people just coming out of a spiritual slumber are numbed by the full glare spotlights of an out of adjustment Christian witness.
Who wakes up in the morning to a 100 watt bulb in their face? Who can see driving at night when a truck’s high beams are coming at you? In that case, light doesn’t show the way, but rather becomes a pain and something to be avoided.
How many of us are getting in the way with too much light at the wrong angle at the wrong time? I’m absolutely not saying there can be too much Christianity, but I am saying that our approach, demeanor, and methodology can adversely impact those needing the proper amounts of salt and light.
Be reminded there will always be some who find any reason to reject Christ.
Sometimes it’s like we’re giving too much water to the plant. We should pray for wisdom for our witnessing efforts and not get ahead of ourselves because that will have others falling behind. We shouldn’t be stumbling blocks. We need to speak the truth in love, as Eph 4:15A proclaims. That doesn’t mean we can’t be assertive, or even aggressive, but we need to refrain from becoming antagonistic.
Somewhere there is a healthy balance in finding out how to meet people where they’re at. This involves prayer, care, discernment and experience. I don’t have all the answers, but as we are led by the word of God and the Spirit of Christ, we can maintain proper amounts of our salt and light.
For past articles visit traceygardone.com.