Shine Brightly!

            In James 1:17, we read this: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  James calls God “the Father of Lights.”  The reason why He is called this is because, simply put, He IS light.  In Revelation 21:23, John tells us about Heaven and how “The City has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.  The Lamb is its light.”  And, since Christians are to be “sons of light” (1 Thessalonians 5:5), we have the responsibility to put on “the armor of light” (Romans 13:12) and “walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8) meaning that we are to live our lives according to His Holy Word (Psalm 119:1-5, 130).  We are to shine as lights in every aspect of our lives so that the world which is lost in the darkness of its sins will see the light of Jesus and glorify the Father of Lights who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

            One additional thing we need to understand about all of this is that, while God’s light never varies (James 1:17), ours does from time to time; There are times when we shine as bright as the sun and, then, there are other times when we flicker or dim or go out altogether.  So, with all of that said, the question is this: what causes this variation in us?  What causes our lights to flicker or dim?  And, while there are a wide variety of things which can affect our light, I will mention just three.

            First, immodest apparel will effectively dim our lights.  Again, as Christians, we are to be different from the world; this is what being “saints” and being “holy” means (1 Peter 1:16)!  We are to be set apart from the world to God.  The way we present ourselves needs to reflect this.  Though given to women, the command is to adorn ourselves in modest apparel, in a way which professes godliness (1 Timothy 2:9-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4).  The way we present ourselves (specifically, in our dress) needs to draw attention to the Creator (God) and not to His creation (us) (Romans 1:24-25).  Likewise, our dress needs to not suggest anything immoral or indecent, but only that which promotes godliness.  It is a sad fact that too many (and one is too many) Christians purposely dim their Christian lights so that they can dress in a “trendy” or in a “cute” way so that they can look just like the world instead of looking like Christians.  And, when that happens, how can the world tell the difference between those claiming godliness and the rest of the world?  So, brethren, let us never present ourselves (or let our children present themselves) in any sort of hypocritical way, but only as those professing godliness with our whole beings (Romans 12:1-2)!

            Second, foul language will greatly affect the brightness of our lights.  As Christians, our speech is to be a beautifully woven tapestry of praise and thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15), of truth and love (Ephesians 4:15), of evangelism and edification (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:29), of wisdom and grace (Colossians 3:5-6), of meekness and tenderness (2 Timothy 2:24-26; Ephesians 4:32).  When we speak as we are supposed to, we brightly shine as lights in this dark world because this is not how the world speaks.  Yet, when we speak as the world speaks (that is, with bitterness, malice, wrath, profanity, with coarse-jesting, gossip, slander, and the like), we purposefully dim our lights to where the world cannot see the light of Jesus in us.  So, let us never speak like the fool (or allow our children to do so), but speak as the wise lights we are called to be.

            Third, evil companions will cause our lights to dim.  As Christians, we are to associate with other Christians (Acts 2:46).  Admittedly, that is not to say that we cannot have association with those who are not Christians (1 Corinthians 5:10); even Jesus sat and ate with “tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 9:11).  So, I am definitely not suggesting that we sequester ourselves away from the world.  Yet, we are to be very wary of worldly relations.  In First Corinthians 15:33, Paul said that “evil company corrupts good habits.”  Another way of putting it might be “friendship with those who care nothing about God will influence you for the worst.”  If we are to remain righteous before the Lord, we need to “choose [our] friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads [us] astray” (Proverbs 12:26).  And, “friendship with fools” will lead to a person’s destruction (Proverbs 13:20).  James states all of this very plainly when he says that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4).  The point is this: evil companions will influence us to purposely dim our lights.  So, let us never be “the companion of fools” or have friendship with the world (or encourage our children to do so).  But, as Christians, let us always shine brightly to those in the world with whom we have contact so that their sins might be exposed and that they might glorify the Lord by turning from those sins and by turning to the Lord.

            We are to be lights in this world darkened by sin.  If we look and speak and act like the world around us, then how will they see our lights (assuming that it has not already gone out) and glorify God by coming to Him in humble, faithful submission to His will?  They can’t, at least, not because of us.  So, let us shine brightly by dressing so as to bring attention to God, by speaking as to direct people to God, and by behaving as to bring people to God.  And, may the Father of Lights bless us always in this endeavor!

~Curtis Carwile