One of the movies I would like you to watch is Evan Almighty. In the movie news anchor Evan Baxter, played by Steve Carell, ran for Congress with the campaign slogan, “Change the world.” He won. But the way he fulfilled his campaign promise is not the way he imagined it would be. But God, played by my favorite actor Morgan Freeman, had an entirely different idea. I will not reveal the plot of Evan Almighty so I won’t spoil the fun. But I agree with its premise. We are called to change the world. We are called to stand out and make a difference. Open your Bibles in Matthew 5:13-16. says, “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 by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”[1] This morning, let us talk about “How to Stand Out.” Let us pray…
We are at the end of “Pursuing ‘Happyness,’” a series on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12. Last time I spoke, we saw that even if we are peacemakers, still people will persecute us. How do we respond? We are to respond by living our lives as the salt and light. Note that Jesus did not say, “You must become salt or light.” He said, “You are the salt… you are the light…” That’s who we are already. Also, the pronoun “You” is plural. That means all of us are salt and light. It is also emphatic in Greek. That means that “You” is emphasized in the way the sentence is constructed in Greek. That means “You, only you, and none others,” are the salt and light. What we need to do now is to remain salty and bright. So, what does it mean that we are the salt and the light? How do we keep our saltiness and how do we let our lights shine?
When we read the word “salt,” we think of adding a dash to our food. But salt has other uses during those times. “Salt was used in the ancient world to flavor foods and even in small doses as fertilizer. Above all, salt was used as a preservative. Rubbed into meat, a little salt would slow decay.”[2]So, what does it mean to be salt of the earth? We are to INFLUENCE people FROM evil. Someone wrote, “[We are] to be a moral disinfectant in a world where moral standards are low, constantly changing, or non-existent.”[3] We are to set the standard. That’s why before Jesus said we are the salt of the earth He first described us as poor in spirit, repentant, meek, craving for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers and persecuted for righteousness. We are to speak out against sin through our words and works.
The problem is that we lose by default. We stay in the saltshaker, so to speak. People do not experience our influence. We stay in our comfort zone. Someone wrote, “Evil men triumph when good men do nothing.” We keep silent. Why? We are afraid we will be persecuted. As I have pointed out, before we are called the salt of the earth, Jesus warned that people will insult and accuse us falsely because of the Lord. But, instead of staying away, we must work to slow down or, if possible, stop the moral decay of the world.
What’s worse than being silent? Verse 13 continues, “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” Some questioned how salt can lose its saltiness when in fact salt or sodium chloride is stable and does not really break down. One commentator wrote, “But most salt in the ancient world derived from salt marshes or the like, rather than by evaporation of salt water, and therefore contained many impurities. The actual salt, being more soluble than the impurities, could be leached out, leaving a residue so dilute it was of little worth.”[4] So, what remains after salt lost its saltiness is just white road dust. It is still called salt. It still looked like salt. But it no longer tasted like salt. It cannot be used anymore to flavor or preserve food. “It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”[5]
What does it mean that lose our saltiness? When we compromise our witness, when we ruin our testimony, when we lose the right to speak against sin because we ourselves committed such sins, then we lost our saltiness. “If Christians become assimilated to non-Christians and contaminated by impurities of the world, they lose their influence. The influence of Christians in and on society depends on their being distinct, not identical.”[6] We are not to imitate the ways of the world or isolate from it but we are to influence it.
That’s why it is sad that, though we claim that our country is the only Christian nation in Asia, we also have the reputation as the number one corrupt nation in the region. We are supposed to influence the world and not the world influencing us. For example, being a businessman does not make you a different kind of a Christian. But the fact that you are a Christian ought to make you a different kind of a businessman. The way you handle your finances or the way you conduct your business or the way you deal with your employees should be different from that of an unbeliever.
Thus, we stand out when we MAINTAIN our EDGE. Keep your saltiness. Either way, people will reject us. If we live according to the word, we will be rejected. If we live according to the world, we will also be rejected. I would rather that people reject us because of our good influence than they reject us because of our bad influence. Let us live as “salt of the earth.”
Now the world is not only in decay, it is also in darkness. That’s why in verse 14 Jesus called us “the light of the world.” In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” When we follow the Light of the world, we also become like Him. Ephesians 5:7 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”. Light is opposed to darkness. “In the OT as in the NT, light most frequently symbolizes purity as opposed to filth, truth as opposed to error, knowledge as opposed to ignorance, and divine revelation and presence as opposed to reprobation and abandonment by God.”[7] As salt, we influence people from evil. As light, we are to ILLUMINATE people FOR good.
Let’s read on: “A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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.”[8] Just as salt must not lose its saltiness, so also light must not be hidden. “Often built of white limestone, ancient towns gleamed in the sun and could not easily be hidden. At night the inhabitants’ oil lamps would shed some glow over the surrounding area. As such cities could not be hidden, so also it is unthinkable to light a lamp and hide it under a peck-measure.”[9] If we would look at the satellite photos of the earth, we can actually see from space the lights from the buildings here on earth. I like how The Message translated verses 14 and 15: “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand.” We go public with our faith.
Jesus commands us in verse 16: “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Note that the conjunction “that” indicates “purpose.” Instead of hiding, we make sure people see what we are doing. Thus, we stand out when we MAXIMIZE our EXPOSURE. The New Living Translation goes like this: “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Some of us may ask, “Isn’t that contradictory with Matthew 6:1?” Let’s read the verse: “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” Note the words “to be seen by them.” What Jesus prohibited us from doing is that we must not do good works to show-off. Our goal is not so that people would be impressed with us but that they would be impressed with God. The focus is not our glory but God’s glory. In a sense, we are God’s public relations agents.
The problem is that we Christians are known for what we don’t do rather than what we do. They know we don’t smoke or we don’t wear this or we don’t practice that. We are known for what we avoid. But we ought to be known for what we act upon. It is not enough that you are not stealing from your company. You must also excel in your work. It is not enough that you come on time in the office. You should also be productive. I like the way The Message translated verse 16: “Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” We are not just to preserve as salt but we must become proactive as light.
Brothers and sisters, as the salt of the earth, we must influence people from evil. We must maintain our edge. As light of the world, we must illuminate people for God. We must maximize our exposure.
We are different and we are to live differently. Thus, we are called to stand out… to make a difference… to change the world, starting with our spheres of influence, that is, our families, our offices, and our neighborhood.
Let us pray…
[1]All Bible verses are from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: New Testament (EBC).
[3]R.V.G. Tasker, as quoted by John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, emphasis in the original.
[4]D.A. Carson, as quoted by Thomas Constable, Notes in Matthew (2000 Edition).
[5]Matthew 5:13c.
[6]Stott.
[7]EBC.
[8]Matthew 5:14b-15.
[9]EBC.
