Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
13 “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. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be
hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they
put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the
same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your Father in heaven.
There's a story that Thomas Wheeler, CEO of the
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, tells on himself. He and his wife
were driving along an interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low
on gas. Wheeler got off the highway at the next exit and soon found a rundown
gas station with just one gas pump. He asked the attendant to fill the tank and
check the oil, and then went for a little walk around the station to stretch
his legs.
As he was returning to the car, he noticed that the
attendant and his wife were engaged in an animated conversation. The
conversation stopped as he paid the attendant. But as he was getting back into
the car, he saw the attendant wave and heard him say, "It was great
talking to you."
As they drove out of the station, Wheeler asked his wife
if she knew the man. She said that she did. They had gone to high school
together and had dated steadily for about a year. " Boy, were you lucky
that I came along," bragged Wheeler. "If you had married him, you'd
be the wife of a gas station attendant instead of the wife of a chief executive
officer."
"My dear," replied his wife, "if I had
married him, he'd be the chief executive officer and you'd be the gas station
attendant!"
So, which of the two had the greater influence on the
other – the husband or the wife? You see, in any relationship, both parties
have an influence on the other
But an even more important question is this: Who has the
greater influence on the other -- you or the world? That is to say, has the
world shaped you and made you what you are today, or have you changed the world
around you by your influence on it?
Christians are called by God not to be transformed by the
world, but to be a transforming influence on the world. In the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus described our calling in this way:
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt
loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to
be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A
city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put
it under a basket, but on a lamp stand and it gives light to all who are in the
house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16)
Make a decision today not to let the world pull you away
from God. Rather determine to live in such a way that will draw the people
around you closer to God.
Dear Lord, help us today to influence the world and not
have it influence us. Help us to be the light and the salt that You have called us to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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