Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
Sometimes old contemporary Christian songs will pop into my mind and run around for awhile. Lately it’s been the 1994 hit Shine by the Newboys. The song speaks to the Christian experience being so good that, being witnessed, it becomes desirable to those who aren’t Christian. Similar to the verse above, the refrain ends with:
let it shine before all men
let ‘em see good works, and then
let ‘em glorify the Lord
The it referred to is identified in the first verse as your light, same as that which Jesus preached about in the Sermon on the Mount. The Newsboys’ audiences were predominately confessed Christians, while Jesus’ congregation were some lower class Jews who were probably trying to make sense out of what he was saying.
But the message is clear. The world is dark. We are light. Meaning the world is metaphorically darkened by their lack of true knowledge of the living God, and we, bearers of the “good news,” carry the torch of the gospel. Trouble is, there are so many versions of the light, that it’s hard to distinguish which one can really extinguish the darkness.
Some light shines from raised pulpits, combined with raised voices, preaching hellfire and brimstone. Other light comes with physical healing, spiritual shaking and mysterious speaking. Still other light involves elaborate ritual with candles and incense. Which light is right?
Maybe instead of picking a light, we should be following the source of light, as taught by his Son. The world of Jesus’ day was filled with trouble. An oppressive government and overbearing religious leaders. It was really difficult to see that a caring God was even around. Jesus worked to make that different in their lives. And he said that by changing their lives, they could, in turn, change other lives.
But what are good deeds? And how will doing them make people praise God? Many Christian leaders teach that good deeds are worthless, that your relationship with Christ is more important. Say what? Your good deeds are your relationship with Christ. The people that came to hear Jesus weren’t looking for a plan of salvation; they just wanted to be saved. Saved from a miserable life without hope. He didn’t shut down the Romans or silence the Pharisees. He showed them how to rise above their circumstances — by caring for others. By being fully persuaded that his Father, and theirs, really is active in their lives and is promising life eternal.
We don’t do good deeds to please God. We do good deeds because we want to be like him. Jesus was like his Father in every way. Our churches want us to praise God in song and worship, then go out and serve. That seems rather backward. I feel the most worshipful when I have obeyed and am in sync with my Lord. I am thankful for his discipline, but I’m more prone to praise him when we’re on the same page.
The tricky part is how to divert praise for our good deeds to the one who has taught us to obey. The Matthew 5:16 verse is difficult for me, because I can’t see someone immediately praising God because you do good. Other believers would gladly praise him for such, but the verse seems to identify the witnesses as those who wouldn’t normally praise or worship God.
Perhaps by doing good deeds, aka obeying, others would be inspired to also do good. And in the course of our fellowship with them, we acknowledge our Creator as the source of our desire to do good, thereby bringing praise to him. Then can our light not only shine, but grow in brilliance as we combine it with others. To God be the glory.
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