by David Brenneman
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16.
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-20.
Whenever we're in private or in public...on social media or in person...when we choose a path other than God's way...we're putting a covering over the Word of God. Keeping the world from it.
Whenever people believe that it's not hurting anyone...they neglect to understand that it hurts their relationship with Jesus and quenches the Holy Spirit.
Whenever a single compromise has occurred...the devil gets a foothold.
Good intentions. Many have said that road to Hell is paved with these.
"The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:7-11.
We choose to display whomever is guarding our hearts. We will either show the Spirit or we show our sin nature.
Many choose the world's ways because of the supposed element of "fun".
My Dear Reader...if all it takes for most is a single wrong decision to destroy a life or critically deform one...the same thing can go with intentionally choosing a single sin over obedience to God's Word.
Many these days want to exude compassion and try to tell others to be sensitive to those around us because we don't know where they are in life.
My Dear Reader...this is how life should be viewed in light of temptations and blatant acceptance of sins in this world.
If Believers choose to sin and its in public...people will think that it must not be that bad.
"However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble." 1 Corinthians 8:7-13.
Christians can be very insensitive to the true effects of their impact on the lives of people whom God has put in their paths.
A little bit of road-rage here a little bit of nastiness in a grocery store. An inappropriate rant on social media. A running commentary on a subject that would never lead a person to believe that a Believer wrote it. Participating in social events that are the world's ideas of fun but in reality are tearing people down. Using words to brutalize others.
Every single time Believers aren't considering that real impact and importance of keeping the whole armor of God on...the enemy gets a chance to take advantage of us and our situation.
People also honestly shut up at the wrong times as well. "I can't say anything because I did that too". So you fell off a cliff and learned something from it but won't say something to keep someone else from falling off the same cliff?
People take the cop-out of "you shouldn't judge" as an excuse to keep on sinning. We aren't to sit in judgment to decide who should go to Hell or is more worthy of Heaven. We are to make judgment calls on what sin is and to both avoid it ourselves and encourage others to do the same.
I often find myself embarrassed because I said or did something that I shouldn't have because I wasn't considering the way I was being seen by others. I wasn't showing a lost world the character of Christ.
Every single time we have the choice to show Christ to the world...strive to get it right. Being sensitive to the things of God rather than maybe even being right before men and women.
Every single time...we can change the course of a life and point them towards a new life in Christ we should take it.
Are people seeing me or seeing Jesus? It's a simple rule.
In NCIS, Gibbs had rules he created to be reminders of his own code of ethics. Maybe we should as well. I know several who have Dr. Charles Stanley's Life Principles memorized for pretty much the same reason.
We need to remember that after coming to Christ we are no longer still living and breathing for our own benefit. We have a life to live in Christ that has purpose. There is a Godly plan for us. It may not even look at all like our former life without Christ.
Every single moment we are awake we represent our Savior and Lord. There's no exceptions to be found.
A few decades ago the What Would Jesus Do craze was going on. The truth is to ask ourselves "What would Jesus like me to be around this person or in this situation?"
Is my foolish rant going to point people to Jesus?
Is my griping about things that don't matter in light of eternity going to point people to Jesus or away from Jesus?
Every single day, all during our day, we make decisions to either follow Jesus with a whole heart or we do the Spiritual life not even half-heartedly and the world really doesn't see Jesus.
My Dear Reader...you choose who the world sees. Either the grace and mercy of God or they see our potential for utter sinfulness.
Every single moment of every single day the choice must be made to follow Jesus.
If whatever you plan on doing brings a shred of dishonor to the name of Jesus...why are you doing it?
Take a good look at your 2024 with a critical eye towards doing 2025 right in the sight of God. Every single person is GOING to give an account of their lives before Jesus.
What will yours show?
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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