[Micah] Churches often have different phrases they use that become "church speak." If you attended services at one of our congregations, you'd probably hear things like brethren, epistle, or covenant that sound a bit funny if you're not used to them.

[Voice] Words. Words. Words. Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

[Micah] "Be a light" is one of those phrases that can become so commonplace that we can lose the meaning of it. And even if you understand what is being said here, knowing exactly how to be a light is a tough thing to do. So let's look into it. In Matthew 5, Jesus paints this picture of a dark horizon lit up by lights of a distant city on a hill and another of a small flame in a dark room that isn't of any use if it's covered up. Then He says, "Let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." It's important to remember the focus here. A Christian is supposed to let their light shine for this express purpose, so that other people see that light and, in effect, see God working. It's not a command to stand in the spotlight, but reflect a spotlight back to God for any that might be looking.

This puts me in mind of another scripture, one of the commandments actually, about not taking the Lord's name in vain. This isn't just about not flippantly saying the name of God, but about how every Christian has God's name placed on them. Like wearing your company's logo outside of the workplace, you need to be careful with your actions because people not only see you, but they see you representing your company.

[Voice 1] Three years at San Quentin, huh?

[Voice 2 ]You found out.

[Voice 1] Baskin-Robbins always finds out.

[Micah] When we've taken God's name on ourselves, we're in a unique position to represent him to others. This is more than bearing the image of God as the Bible says every human does. It's being unashamed to belong to God. It's committing to live to a standard God has set. And it's realizing that when others hear our claims to be followers of God and see actions or hear words contrary to that reality, it reflects poorly back on God. It dims the light He shines through us in their eyes. And in this way, it isn't our light that's shining. It's borrowed light from God himself. Ultimately, being a light is about responsibly living your life around others and interacting with them in a way that reflects God's love, and power, and awesomeness.

[Jordan Peterson] One of the Ten Commandments is do not use God's name in vain. Okay, now people think that means don't swear. But what it really means is do not claim divine motivation for self-serving behavior.

[Micah] It's one thing to represent your neighborhood Starbucks. It's another thing entirely to represent the all-powerful, all-seeing, benevolent, invisible creator of the universe that spoke all things into existence. God knew it might get a bit overwhelming, so He simplified it into three things in the book of Micah. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord your God. This means that in everything we do, our thoughts about others, our speech with others, and our actions towards others, we need to keep these things in mind.

Do justly means we need to understand and not waver on doing right. God sets out standards for us to live by and we can't water those down. Love mercy means we need to recognize that we don't always live by those standards. Not only are we imperfect people, but so is literally everyone else we come in contact with. It's not enough to love that God grants us mercy. We need to love others so much that we love mercy for them as well. Still without leaving the do justly part undone, of course. Walk humbly with God means always know your place under him. Humility not only keeps us from becoming complacent, but it makes us so much more approachable by God and by others. A humble person recognizes that it's not us and God versus everyone else. He's God. We're human, sinful and in need of grace and love. We're not only on team God, we're on team humanity that desperately needs him.

So now that we've put it in the simplest terms possible, let's up the ante a little bit. Because this simple phrase, "Be a light," really isn't always a simple task. The people you'll interact with come from every different walk of life and have different attitudes and perspectives on the light of God you're trying to reflect. Some love the light, but not in the way you know they should. Some just don't understand it at all. And some absolutely hate it and live lives directly contrary to it. How you're a light to all of these people might be very different. And you might be surprised. In your effort to be a light to some, you might only end up being a light to others that you didn't expect. No matter who you meet, ask yourself, would words or actions best reflect the goodness of God here?

The command for Christians to be a light to the world doesn't mean that we need to knock on people's doors and preach to them until they hate us. It's actually the opposite. The command is for you to be a light. Whether people are watching or care, be a light. Maybe you'll pick up trash off the street and no one's going to see it or care that you did it. Still pick it up. Maybe you'll make some clarifying comment about your faith on Instagram and no one likes it. Still comment. Whether you're in a dark room alone or surrounded by hundreds of people, be a light. Paul, in talking about people who would reject the gospel, says, "How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they're sent? As it's written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.'" So your words might fall on deaf or angry ears, but the command is the same, and a blessing comes with it. So be a light.

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