How Can We Stay Salty in a World That Rejects Scripture?
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“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 lampstand, 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 5:13-14).
What does it mean to be a Christian? Or better, what should our lives look like as followers of Jesus Christ? Contrary to some people’s opinion, Christianity is not simply a tool to use, like a genie in a bottle, to get what we want in life. While God is certainly a good father who loves to bless us with good things, He does not exist for our pleasure. We exist for His.
Having our priorities correct may seem elementary, but sometimes we need to review the basics. It’s easy to fall into a pattern of prayer that focuses on “God bless me, protect me, make my life better, make me happier, make me richer.” But when challenges, obstacles, or persecutions come at us unexpectedly, we can too easily be discouraged and disillusioned with God, His church and the promises of His Word. Some have even fallen away from the faith because they felt “it didn’t work.”
Our faith must never be so self-focused that we lose sight of the fact that we no longer own our lives; in fact, we gave our lives to Christ, so we must follow Him as His disciples. And what does Jesus say regarding His disciples?
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).
In addition to our daily needs, our prayers should reflect the desires of God’s heart and will for our lives:
Lord, help me to recognize and serve others in their time of need. Fill me with more of Your love, that I may represent Your goodness faithfully to the world. Prosper me financially so that I may fully and cheerfully give to whoever You lead me to bless. Saturate me with your wisdom and compassion, and allow me to reach more people for Your glory!
We are called to live our lives in a way that compels others to hunger and thirst to know Christ for themselves. It’s what Jesus calls being light for a world stumbling in darkness, and salt to make them thirsty to seek the living waters offered freely through Christ.
But let’s face it. It’s not so easy to let our lights shine in our current culture, where any truth (but especially biblical truth), is constantly mocked and challenged by lies. Indeed, there are people today who are attempting to redefine established truth and reality to promote political agendas. So it’s become imperative for us believers to shine brighter than ever. But for those who live “in the world,” but are not “of it,” it presents an age-old dilemma.
The dilemma is that if I stand for truth against the lies of the world, I’m hated and labeled as intolerant or outdated – one of those narrow-minded Christians. So I back off, keep my opinions to myself and let everybody go on unchallenged. Then I’m accepted, loved and maybe even respected.
On the other hand, if I don’t stand for the truth of God’s word, I feel a nagging sense of disloyalty toward God. And this sense of compromise weighs heavy on my heart. In truth, staying silent is not really an option; inevitably, our culture will demand an answer from us on these issues.
Compel Them to Desire Jesus
“Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled’” (Luke 14:23).
The word “compel” is an interesting word. It can mean to force.
I remember a boy named JJ who was a part of the church where I grew up. JJ learned in Sunday School that God wanted to use our lives to compel others to come to Christ. And he took it literally. On more than one occasion, when JJ would see another kid hanging out in the Fellowship Hall, he would run full tilt toward them, launch himself in the air, tackle them to the ground, and say, “Do you know Jesus?!”
I doubt that’s what God had in mind when He instructed us to go and compel them to come. Jesus was saying that our lives, our characters, and our faith should be so attractive and desirable that people want what we have.
How do we allow our salt and light to make people thirsty for Christ, and help them walk out of the darkness of sin into the light of eternal life? I can think of no better example to follow than the Prophet Daniel.
Daniel and the Neo-Babylonian Culture
Daniel lived in the depraved Neo-Babylonian culture, where people worshipped all sorts of false deities and promoted all manner of crazy beliefs and relative truths.
Daniel served in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, a man who suffered from a god delusion. He had conquered many foreign lands in battle, and in each land that he conquered, the king noticed the people there worshipped many different gods. And because he was more powerful and able to defeat these nations without the intervention or protection of their gods, he concluded… I am God!
And as each battle ended, he would capture their god – often a golden idol or statue – and put it in his shrine room with the others, to remind himself that he was God.
Nebuchadnezzar also conquered Judah, Daniel’s homeland, and concluded he was more powerful than Jehovah God as well. It was during this battle that Nebuchadnezzar captured young Daniel (Daniel 1:1-2, 6).
Daniel Influenced the Culture Instead of Conforming to It
Daniel was thrust into a far worse society than we live in. And yet when you read through the Book of Daniel, it’s clear that Daniel wasn’t influenced or intimidated by this culture. He didn’t hide his light or his saltiness just because he found himself in Babylon.
Daniel didn’t compromise God’s truth just because it was politically incorrect. He didn’t moderate his speech or his opinions so as not to offend his neighbors and co-workers. Daniel stood tall in a bow down culture, and instead of being influenced by it, he did the influencing!
No matter how crazy and dark the world appears, we must remember that people are searching for answers. They are looking for evidence that there actually is a God who is real and tangible and can make a difference. They want to find a God more powerful than their addiction, their struggles and their infirmities. They want a God that is demonstrably real, loving and present.
You have what they truly want. And as a Christian, you have the answer that the world is searching for. So learn to live like Daniel to compel them to come to the knowledge of Christ!
1. Remember Why We Are Here
Daniel could have concluded he was in the Babylonian empire, against his will, simply because he was captured. He could have focused on his unfortunate circumstances and lamented his fate. But instead, when you read through the Book of Daniel, it’s clear that Daniel knew he was there to show everyone in that Babylonian kingdom who God really was.
Daniel understood that he was there to be salt and light in the darkness, to demonstrate the reality of the one true God, and to compel these people to seek to know Him too.
It’s a great way to look at life! Why am I here, in this situation? Why hasn’t this turned out the way I imagined? How did I end up in this amazing position? Why did I get demoted? Why did I get promoted?
How would your life change if you answered by reminding yourself, that you are where you are (regardless of how you got there), to be salt and light to all those around you? To influence all those watching you, who are touched by your presence in some way, so that everyone who comes into contact with you would catch your contagious faith in the only One who can save.
2. Stay Unspotted
After Daniel’s capture, he was tempted to go along to get along. As part of his training for the king’s service, he was allotted a daily provision of food that was not appropriate for a Hebrew diet (Daniel 1:3-6). In essence, the Babylonians wanted the captured Hebrews to turn their backs on the old ways of their faith, and embrace the new culture they found themselves in.
They were even given new names.
“To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego” (Daniel 1:7).
What was the purpose of stripping Daniel and the others of their identity and confidence in Jehovah’s declarations of what was right and wrong? It was to indoctrinate Daniel into a new way of thinking, one which they controlled, so that he could be used for the king’s purposes.
And this is what the enemy is after in our lives. He attempts to strip of us of our relationship with Christ by submitting to the cultural norms he creates, so that he can use us for satanic purposes.
What’s the solution? Stay unspotted!
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
When we don’t subscribe to the world’s ways, the world’s truth, or the world’s standard of what’s right and wrong, we stay unspotted. We keep our saltiness and light shining brightly. But when we compromise because of a fear of rejection, or being labeled as intolerant or unloving, we lose all ability to truly influence others for Christ.
What did Daniel do?
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8).
3. Stand Firm
The Hebrew boys lived in a way that they were always prepared to demonstrate the reality of God. And when put to the test to conform and bow before a golden Babylonian idol in the image of Nebuchadnezzar or face death in a fiery furnace, they stood strong, salty, and full of light. And God showed through a deliverance miracle to Nebuchadnezzar and the entire empire, the reality of the true God, Jehovah (see, Daniel chapter 3).
Taking a stand for God against enormous societal and personal pressure is the brightest way to let your light shine. But you don’t do it once and expect results. It requires a consistent, loving relationship so that people know what you have is real. It requires courage that comes only from faith in God. You must know without a doubt that He’s able to save and protect, guide, provide, help and heal.
When we are thrown into the fires of life, that’s when what we say and do matters the most. That’s when others see the reality of our faith and our God.
And when we take a stand for righteousness, while maintaining an attitude of God’s grace and truth in a culture of hate and darkness, people take one step closer to receiving Jesus.
Who are you compelling to come to God’s house, so that His house may be full?
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