“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.” Matthew 5:13 (NLT). What an impact on the world Christians could have if we all obeyed this verse. The world we live in is full of sin, desperation, and hopelessness among those who do not have the love of Jesus in their heart. Who knows how many people we pass each day who are going through a personal torment due to their own fears, addictions or other issues we can only imagine. As Christians, we often forget that only by the grace of God that the troubled person we passed could be ourselves.
As Christians, we should daily portray all the attributes of love and mercy. We are the salt of the world and when people see us, they should immediately have a longing for what it is that makes us so joyful and full of peace, even in the face of adversity. It is so easy to see other people who have sinned in obvious ways (murder, drugs, etc) and become smug and self-righteous. The Bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags and we are no better than that one who committed the terrible crime. Sin is sin and we should not immediately become judgmental or quick to offer our opinion. Jesus’ attitude should be our example (remember the woman at the well?). Often a simple smile or kind word towards a wayward soul could be that little act of encouragement, or that sign they need, to keep them on that road that could perhaps lead them to an acceptance of Jesus. One of Satan’s tricks is to place a pre-conceived notion or a judgmental opinion about someone or a situation, and cloud our mind to the potential witnessing opportunity we may have, and pass up if we are not careful. I would challenge each of us to keep the following prayer in mind as we go about our daily tasks. Someone sent it to me and it really caused me to think:
“Heavenly
Father….Help us remember that the person who cut us off in
traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and
was rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and
spend a few precious moments with her children…. Help us to
remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t
make change correctly is a worried 19-year old college student, balancing
his worry over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans
next semester..…..Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum,
begging for money is the same spot every day (who really out to get a
job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst
nightmares…… Help us to remember that the old couple walking
annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping
progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy
report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go
shopping together….. Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of
all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love.
It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear.
Open our hearts not just to those who are close to us, but to all
humanity. Let us be slow to
judgment and quick to forgiveness, patience and love.
Amen.”
Tim Perry for Legacy