Got a Light?

Matthew 5:14-16, Taught by Tom Lacey at Church on the Hill, January 7, 2023

You are the light of the world- don't add to the darkness.

How you live sends a message to those around you. Your life is your message. People are watching how we 1ive, how we respond to adversity, what we do when we're the winner and someone else loses. Can we speak truth with grace? Are you learning how to watch what you say? Can we let someone else lead and we follow? Do you know how to be gracious? Is your heart growing bigger over time? Are you willing to serve for the good of others?

Scripture says we have the power to be witnesses. When people see us setting a bad example, this overrides what we say. You can't tell your kids to do right if you're doing wrong. Most people aren't reading their bibles; their reading your life. When people see you living a life ofpatience, calmness, strength, integrity, generosity, courage, honesty, and kindness-that's the best witness. Your impact has the power to change people. The litfle things we do wel1, perhaps even unexpected, are like kindling that lights a fire. Others will see, believe, and may even be changed.

We come to church to get recharged, but our real assignment begins when we leave here. We should be the kind ofpeople that when we ask others to come and check out our church, they will be truly interested in seeing it. We should live our values, so that they will want to join with us to build a bigger, better church.

We all have a ministry. 2 Corinthians 5: 1 8 says we have a ministry of reconciliation, not of disruption. The truth is people can't see God-they see us. I know a pastor who went to a restaurant frequently for lunch. His customary waitress was a young woman, "a good person with issues." She struggled with addictions. She was uncomfortable with trim being a minister. She thought he would judge her. But he was kind and friendly and she was relieved. He noticed she liked a certain kind of coffee. He brought her the coffee on several occasions. At Christmas time he bought a gift for her son. After that, she asked where his church was. She and her boyfriend came to his church, kept coming, became members and changed their lives. The pastor ended up marrying them. His light had true kindness and love at its core, and it changed their world forever.

There are enough people in the world tearing things apart. Don't add yourself to that list. Keep faith with the light. Hold on to the power of God's love, even in small ways and little moments.

Several years ago I went through the drive through at a fast food restaurant. Ordered my food but the server kept getting the order wrong. It was frustrating, but I was patient as we went through the order several times to get everything correct. When I pulled up to the window I recognized the girl. She was a high school-er and in our church. She said, "Hi, Pastor Tom!" You never know who is watching.

Jesus said let your light shine before others so they may see your good works. Your life is sending out a message. Kindness, patience, joy, peace, respect, integrity speak of Christ's kingdom.

But there's more to it than this. Sometimes, our light is getting blown hard by others. It's not always easy to do the better or bigger thing, and we struggle with going as low as anyone else. Commit this year, or this month, or this week, or at least today, to letting others do them, but you do Christ. Don't let negative people get to you. People push buttons to get a certain response. Tum your buttons off. Keep being good, patient, resourceful, courageous, kind, forgiving. Keep being loving. After all, scripture says these are marks of love: "Love is patient, love is kind. .. love is not rude. . .. It is not irritable or resentful." Keep being the light is to keep Christian love burning.

A young girl was playing with a flashlight on a bright sunny day. She turned it on and off, and could see the light bulb was on but nothing was coming out. It seemed like it wasn't working because she couldn't see the light. As we know, flashlights are made to work in the dark, not the light. Light is most important when it's dark.

If we always fall to the lowest common denominator of the behavior of those around us, we put out our light. The truth is most people already know what they're doing wrong and. Don't let darkness dim your candle. Don't let bad spirited people extinguish your spirit. We may complain we don't like this job, or our classmates or the neighbors, but that doesn't mean you don't have a reason to be there. Just because others are sabotaging things or setting up bad dynamics doesn't mean you can't shine your light. When you hear people complaining don't join in. Turn it around and express gratitude, and say why the situation isn't as bad as they think. You are the light of the world; don't add to the darkness.

King Saul was jealous of David. One day, he threw a spear at David but missed. David never complained about Saul. He kept doing the right thing. One night while on the run he saw Saul asleep unprotected. He could've killed him but he didn't. He said "God, I won't touch the king, your anointed, I’ll let you fight my battles." David let his actions do the talking. People don't change overnight. Saul chased David for a long time, but David stayed on the high road. Eventually Saul died in battle and David became king.

Jesus didn't spend all his time in synagogues and safe places. He went to the people that needed more light in their lives. He showed mercy and was kind. Jesus let his light shine in all places. So many of the religious people of his day didn't like it. Too often "religious" people are like that. They think their religion is for one thing, but it's not. Christianity isn't for making certain people feel they're better or more important to God than others. That's human ego and weakness doing that. That's darkness instead of light.

I know someone might say, "Pastor, we don't intend to have our faith differentiate between us and some others; it's what the Bible says, so we're just following it." What's wrong with this view is fairly simple. If someone's going to speak for God, to say this is what God believes about this person or that person, then you'd better be 100% correct about it. Right? I mean, I'm not allowed to speak for my kids, wife, or anyone else for that matter. When you step in for someone else to tell others what that person means to say, boy, you're always on shaky grounds. And this is just between people. Imagine talking for God! I mean, Wow! I can't imagine being like, "Well, you know, I'm like 93.5% sure this is what God would say if she were here." Those are not toes I want to be stepping on, or mansplaining for.

But it's not just that folks are speaking out often for God; it's the tune they're singing. They think they're harmonizing with the Lord, but those are some seriously out of tune notes they're putting out. It's incredible to think that folks are going to be so brazen to say God condemns others, that God sees certain folks as illegitimate children. I'd want 110% absolute certainty before I opened my mouth-and there's no way that's ever a possibility. To tell someone that their parents don't love them is crazy. How is that what Christianity is about? Where's the love? Where's the light?

Christianity is to be the light, not add to the dark.

To represent God and goodness you don't have to be tough, you don't have to be bossy, or mean, willing to take people down who are doing wrong. The opposite is true. Let people see your good works. Let them save face. Show them by example rather than demand them to become better. It doesn't really work anyway. Be joyfuller in the good times, at peace in the tough times. God's counting on you to brighten things up. Do the right thing even when the wrong things happen. The world needs your light.

An over-stressed employee needed a few days off work badly, but he knew the boss wouldn't allow it. He thought maybe if he acted off his rocker, a little "crazy," the boss would let him go a few days. So, he got up on the desk, swung up on a beam in the ceiling, hung upside-down, and started to make funny noises. His co-worker watched him and asked him what he was doing. He told him he was pretending to be a light bulb so that the boss would think he was 'crazy' and give him a few days off.

A few minutes later the boss came into the office, saw him hanging there, and yelled, "What in the name of all that's good are you doing?" He told him he was a light bulb. The boss said, "You're clearly stressed out. Go home and recuperate for a couple of days." He jumped down and walked out of the office. The co-worker got up out of her chair and started to walk out too. The boss yelled, "Hey, where do you think you're going?" "I'm going home, too," she said. "I can't work in the dark."

There may be people that are difficult a long time, but light wins out over darkness. Getting even isn't worth it. Build better habits than revenge or staying resentful. Our lives are best built on faith, hope, and love. I mean, obviously, we ail have people we could complain about. But don't. If we complain and get mad over them, then we won't be ready to grow in grace when it's needed. We're needed to transform situations, not relive old negative actions or words.

Instead, think about how you might make things work out. Pray for patience and a better path to take. This way, the darker the situation, the brighter your light will shine. Let us let the light out into our world.

Can the church say amen?