INFLUENCE!

 

Friday, June 9, 2023

 

INFLUENCE!

 

Matt 5:13-16

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

S

alt in those days was impure and mixed with vegetable or mineral substances. Rock salt! When subjected to wind, rain, and sun the salt would lose its saltiness. All that would be left was gravel that was good only for paving pathways. Only the salt that remained “close to the rock” remained salty! (Source: The Land and the Book, vol.ii.pp.43,44)

 

S

alt is not food. It only influences the flavor of the food. Salt is also a preservative. That is why Jesus likened His followers to salt. We make the bitter and tasteless world more palatable. For those who will listen, we also invite them into a relationship with God that will preserve them from damnation. We are here to influence others for good.

 

O

ur government is full of unelected people whose only job is to influence those who make laws and policy. The total number of registered lobbyists in Washington, D.C. is 10,400 and their spending has topped $1.66 Billion – with a “B”. (Source: OpenSecrets.org) Appropriate conclusions can be drawn from this.

 

U

nlike the professionals who influence government, believers are to influence others for good. Having received God’s mercy, we then share His mercy with others. We seek to keep our hearts pure that God might be seen in our lives today. We become peacemakers in a troubled world and channels for God's mercy, purity, and peace.

 

Col 4:6

6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

 

Lord, let me lobby and influence others for good today. AMEN