In the Sermon on the Mount, containing Christ's foundational instruction to His disciples, He warned that the road traveled by true Christians is both narrow and difficult and few in this lifetime travel it successfully.

As an observer of the human parade, I am fascinated by how easy it is to land in the ditch on either side of the road to eternal life-how difficult it is to achieve true spiritual balance.

This year I was privileged to work as a part of the newspaper staff at Camp McKenzie, one of our summer youth camps, where I was impressed by one young lady's understanding of this spiritual principle. Among the articles submitted by the campers for the camp newspaper, The McKenzie Good Times, was a short yet insightful article on spiritual balance by Teresa VanAusdle. The journalism is youthful, but the spiritual insight is quite mature.

To Be "in the World" and Not "of the World"

What does it mean to be "in the world" and not "of the world"? Well, it means that even if you are around the world all of your life, you shouldn't do all the things that they do.

An example of that would be a fish that lives in an ocean or a sea. It lives in salt water all of its life and yet when you catch the fish you still have to add salt. In other words, just because it lives in the saltwater doesn't mean that it needs to absorb it. That is what we need to do-not absorb the world around us just like the fish.

Quite a challenge isn't it? Christ intended that His disciples go into the world yet not absorb it. This requires delicate spiritual balance.

How have generations of religious people handled this matter? Throughout time the fearful, timid or, in stark contrast, the aloof and arrogantly superior have cloistered themselves away from society so as not to be contaminated. The Essenes of Christ's day, the monasteries, cloisters and abbeys of Europe and Asia, even the isolationist sects that sprang up in 18th and 19th century North America—all sought to find and preserve spirituality through isolation.

One of the timeless observations in the Word of God about isolation is found in Paul's advice to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:9-10). Paul acknowledged that if they were to totally isolate themselves from fornicators, covetous, extortioners and idolaters, they would have to leave the planet. Centuries have passed, but this comment is as true today as it was two thousand years ago. Go to work on Monday morning and stand elbow to elbow with all the categories Paul described and more-nothing has changed except it is probably worse. Yet that's where God wants you to be—in it, but not of it.

Look at Matthew 5:14-16 "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." The truism is ageless. What light can be shed in a monastery, a Shaker village or for that matter a Church of God home safely insulated from outside exposure?

None. The light is safe and secure under its bushel basket.

Being a Light

It's dangerous to be a light. It is not a job for the spiritually weak or insecure.

God from ancient times has preserved the names and the recorded trials of those who stood in the midst of this world and shed light brightly-Joseph, Esther, Daniel and Nehemiah, just to name a few. And God was glorified by the light they cast in a darkened world.

There is a not-so-obvious benefit that comes from letting light shine. That is validation—validation of the worth of what is taught; validation of how it is practiced. God's way does work, but people have to see it in order to appreciate it and thereby glorify God for it.

Remember the words of Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." The formula is simple—before men—they may see—glorify God.

I had an opportunity to speak at length with Larry Greider, United Youth Camp Coordinator, when he made a visit to Camp McKenzie as a part of our request for ACA accreditation. What I found interesting were the comments he passed along of those who visited our camps on behalf of the ACA. They were deeply impressed by the amount of effort put out to make possible a one-week camping experience for our youth. They likened our staff's arrival and set-up to a World War II beachhead landing. They were impressed with how many would volunteer their time to work as unpaid staff and how much effort we would expend to make it all possible. The ACA representatives also wanted a copy of our camp manuals-not in this case to examine for accreditation, but because they were impressed by the thoroughness of our preparation. Our interacting with the ACA allowed a light to shine in a new area.

Prior to speaking with Mr. Greider, a couple of us sat in the dining hall with Darryl Imhoff, former NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers, and now the overseer of the facility at Camp McKenzie. We all knew that we were not their normal client, nor have they treated us as normal. We have been granted privileges at the facility that are offered to no other organization. Why? Mr. Imhoff made one comment that told the story. He said, "You are the one group that, when you leave our camp, it is cleaner than when you arrived."

Where is the line between interfacing with the world as an opportunity to spread light, and becoming just another part of the world and its ways? The line is sometimes faint—the road, as Christ said, is "narrow," difficult.

Keeping ourselves undefiled from the world yet being a light that glorifies God can be quite a spiritual balancing act. Our mandate though is clear. We are to go out to the world yet remain separate from its ways and actions.

Remember the very fitting lesson from the young writer at Camp McKenzie. Like the saltwater fish, we may live a lifetime in our surroundings, but we don't have to absorb it. That's spiritual balance.