November 30, 2018

Be Different

“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.” – Matthew 5:13

We want to be like everyone else, don’t we? We want to fit in. Even if we long for attention and accolades, we want to get along with others. We want to be liked.

But we weren’t created to blend into the crowd. We weren’t created to shine for ourselves. We weren’t created to look the other way.

If you make no effort to affect the world around you, you are of little value to God. How can the world see Him unless you are different from what it sees in everyone else?

What does that look like? It doesn’t have to mean selling everything you own and traveling to another country to be a missionary. Though it can look like that, often being different is something we do right where we are.

It can mean that we are simply kind to people. Encourage others. Offer grace. Smile. Look someone in the eye. Refuse to participate in gossip.

Being the salt can also mean refusing to remain silent when we should speak out. Do you voice your opinion when you see someone being mistreated? Do you speak up for the poor? Do you defend the single Mom struggling to work and care for her children? Are you quick to criticize or are you quick to help?

We don’t do God any good when we are more interested in going along with the crowd than in doing what He has called us to do. We also don’t help Him when we’re so focused on our own political views, our own bank accounts, our own lives, that we miss what His Word clearly says.

How often do your actions deny Him? Think about it. When you gossip, you’re denying Him. When you refuse to show mercy, you’re denying Him. When you cling to His gifts, you’re denying Him. When you make excuses for not doing what He has called you to do, you’re denying Him.

We also sin when we don’t share our faith with others. Is it because we truly don’t know what to say or because we don’t want to be bothered? What if we didn’t try and make it so complicated? What if we merely told people our story? What if we simply shared our faith with others without judging or criticizing? And what if we just started with an invitation to an event, a service, a gathering?

There are so many hurting people in the world. People are hungry. I’m not talking about people who live in other countries or who refuse to work. I’m talking about the elderly or those working two or three jobs and trying to support themselves, their children and sometimes their parents. Do you know how expensive a major illness can be? Insurance only covers part of the cost. What are you doing to help?

When we go along with the crowd, when we refuse to be bothered by the lost or hurting, we’ve lost our effectiveness as God’s chosen people. Stand out. Stand up. Live boldly for Christ. Dare to be different.

April 16, 2016

Speak Truth

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. -- Colossians 4:6

It was a comment meant to praise and encourage. “You’re a good mother.” It sounded, well, good. Except the young girl accepting the praise isn’t a good mother.

I stayed silent. I’ve learned to do that sometimes. (Other times I wish I’d learned to stay silent.) But it really bothered me. The young mother loves her baby. It’s not that. It’s just that she refuses to take responsibility for the day to day care giving an infant requires.

Happy photo ops are not the norm. They are the show. The responsibility -- the dirty diapers, the waking up in the middle of the night, the expenses -- are all shouldered by her parents. She not only doesn’t appreciate all they give, she resents them.

Surely, the person making the comment knew that. Didn’t she? Or was she only seeing what she wants to see? Sometimes we turn a blind eye to something that makes us uncomfortable. Sometimes we refuse to see what is right in front of us.

I am not the most diplomatic person. I am outspoken and sometimes I put way too much salt in my words. I’m trying to learn that just a little salt goes a long way when I’m speaking truth that is difficult to hear.

But I’m also learning more and more not to be silent. I was a silent victim for too long, always being cautioned to “not say anything” in order to keep the peace. It didn’t work. Volcanoes can only be contained for so long before they erupt into a fiery disaster. I wonder sometimes if the eruption would have changed in magnitude had I refused to stay silent. I’ll never know.

I do know that we sometimes avoid people who speak truth over our lives. We don’t want to hear it. We don’t want to face whatever it is we need to face. We don’t want to accept that maybe, just maybe, the words were sent from God Himself to speak truth. Like the prophet Nathan speaking truth over King David.

As Christians, we’re to weigh our words carefully. The tongue has such power to wound. We’re to let caution still our anger before we lash out with words that can never be unsaid.

But we’re also to speak truth, seasoned with salt. Build people up, yes, but do it in truth. Lies don’t benefit anyone. Neither does silence when it’s done for all the wrong reasons.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Show Yourself Different

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

-- Luke 14:34-35

Christians aren't supposed to blend in with the rest of the world. Jesus tells us to be like salt. We are to flavor the world with goodness and kindness, love and forgiveness. We are to be distinct among those filled with greed and anger, hatred and selfishness. Others should see us and know us as Christians by our actions. Do they?

Look around your world today. What do you see? Are you just like your neighbor? Do you covet what you don't have? How far will you go to get that promotion? Who will you hurt to get your child a better opportunity? What will you say or do to go along with the crowd? Have you allowed yourself to become a bland version of everyone around you?

The world could use a little goodness -- a little saltiness -- today. Let those around you see that you are different. Distinct. Jesus lives inside you. Let is show.