I’ve come to a point where I’m ready to say and do whatever needs to be said and done….  No more worrying about what people will think, or say, or do about it. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. After many mistakes, things not said or not done– I’m not going down that path if I can possibly avoid it. Life is too short for that. I mean, if it’s something beneficial, praiseworthy, excellent, why not say it or do it? It hit me pretty hard– I don’t want to go to the grave with unfinished business. Why did it take me so long to come to this conclusion? Well… that’s probably the subject of another post at some other time. I’ve had to “get over myself” and just get on.

I’ve been reading Matthew 5 lately– where it says “you are the salt of the earth…let your light so shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” So what does it mean to be salt and light? I think that part of being salt and light means– just doing what I’m supposed to do–without procrastination or thought to what others may think. I have to “get over myself” and simply do or say what the Father is asking me to do.

This is not license to speak my mind and go around hurting other people by saying whatever comes to mind, or committing rash acts without consideration of their consequences. No, that’s not it– that doesn’t qualify as being salt and light.

Salt is the one spice that really is needed, isn’t it? Without it, foods just don’t taste as good. No matter what you’ve got in your cupboard– I bet you’ve got salt. Of course there’s more to be drawn out of this analogy here, but I’m not going to take it further right now; I’m sure others have researched that and written much more eloquently about it.

Light– I could go on and on about light. You could, too.  Without the sun, we’d all be stumbling around in the darkness  and probably all have Seasonal Affective Disorder, and be seriously deficient in Vitamin D. Maybe skin cancer rates would be lower, on the upside. But– no joke, really. I miss the sun when it’s not shinin’, don’t you? Well, ok, I hear you…maybe we’re not all missing the sun to the same degree. 

But we all need the Son to the same degree. Without The Light, the Son, we’d all be spinning around in a spiritual black hole, destined to a purposeless life, now and in the hereafter.

I want to be real. Be Real. I don’t want to have unspoken words and neglected deeds following me. They don’t just follow me… they haunt me. They whisper in my ears and prick my conscience… they won’t let me alone. Moreover, I’ve had to eat the bitter fruit of  that neglect. “No more,”  I say!

speak encourage smile hug help call visit befriend walk run step-up exhort teach

That’s what I want to do.

Dear God, I want to be real. Help me to act in the here and now. I want to be salt and light.