Let
Your Light So Shine
I
wholly agree that we as Christians need to think before we speak.
None of us are sinless or blameless. And all of us struggle with
certain sins. For one person, it could be lying. For another, it
could be lust. At the end of the day, it is all sin and only God can
change our hearts.
But
I think we need to be careful that we are not so overly distraught
about how our words may come across that we fail to speak at
all.
There
are definitely examples in the Bible of God-fearing men who let
their own idea of holy vs. unholy cloud their judgment or make them
act out of fear and anger. Take Peter for example. He sliced off the
high priest’s servant’s ear with a sword out of anger for Christ.
Jesus told him to “put away” his sword.
Sometimes
we Christians are like that. We see the “sin” flag wagging around
and we pounce on it without thinking first.
But
other times, we are recognizing sin for what it is and there should
be no fear or shame in doing so.
For
the homosexuality issue–it is indeed a hot-button issue. But that
should not deter us from speaking the truth. You
might have close friends who are in this life-style and/or are
trying to come out of it. For those individuals struggling, I have
no condemnation toward them. I am a sinner too.
But
I think many Christians are more so angered not by these individuals
struggling, but rather by the liberal gay groups and activists who
attempt to force the gay lifestyle on society to be accepted as
normal and without sin. If you follow news of the gay pride parades
that take place and other pro-homosexual activities, you are aware
of the plethora of homosexual groups trying desperately to influence
teenagers and children. All of it is perverse. I don’t believe God
condones this behavior at all.
There
will be times we will have to stand up and speak the truth. And we
can’t be afraid. It was Jesus who overturned the tables in the
temple. And it was Paul who freely told the church to put out the
sinner because “a little leaven leavens the whole.” (1 Cor.
5)
We are the salt and light of this world. What good has
salt if it loses its savour (Matt. 5)? What good has light if it is
hidden under a
bushel?
