Calling Light "Darkness" and Darkness "Light"

            I was on the internet on Monday and two headlines came up on my feed.  The first story was about Tim Tebow.  Even if you don’t know anything about sports, you might have heard about him because of his religious beliefs.  He is fiercely “spiritual” and overtly “Christian.”  He has been a bit of an enigma because of his openness about his Christianity.  And, his scripture-quoting has become a bit of a joke in the media (e.g., before his first NFL game, he tweeted “yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...”).  Because of being so openly “Christian,” he has been the source of constant ridicule and told by those in the media and even on his team to “tone down the Jesus-thing” and even to “sit down and be quiet.”  On Monday, after just one season with The New York Jets, he was released to free agency.  His response has been described as “totally Tebow.”  He tweeted from Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your paths.”  The second story was about Jason Collins.  Even if you do know anything about sports, you might not have known who he was before Monday.  He plays for the Boston Celtics and, on this past Monday, he became the first openly homosexual professional athlete in the United States.  Since then, he has received thousands of text messages and tweets from people like former President Bill Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres, and Kobe Bryant, all of whom have offered their support to Collins, congratulating him on doing “such a brave thing.” 

            When I read both of those articles, several Bible passages came to my mind.  The first passage which came to my mind was Isaiah 5:20 which says: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”  This is, of course, what is going on in the world more and more with every passing day.  People are ridiculing those who proclaim Jesus and righteousness, telling them to “put a cork in it.”  All the while, they are praising those who blaspheme the name of God and walk in unrighteousness. 

            While this is becoming the norm, we shouldn’t be surprised by it because it happened in Jesus’ day.  In John 8:12, Jesus says that He is the light of the world.  Earlier, in John 1:5, we read that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”  And, later on in John (3:19), Jesus said this: “This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”  And, the long and the short of it is this: people hate righteousness (and those who promote it) because they love their sin.  And, because they love their sin, they have chosen to waste eternity in outer darkness in Hell (Matthew 25:30, 41, 46).

            So, what can we do about this?  Well, believe in Jesus (John 12:46) and all that entails: “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12).  “Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).  “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).  Be a “guide to the blind and a light to those who are in darkness” (Romans 2:19).  And, even in “the valley of the shadow of death,” “trust in the Lord with all your heart... and He will direct your path” to Him in Heaven when this existence is over.  This is what we can do.  So, let us never grow weary in doing it (Galatians 6:9), but let us encourage each other all the more as we see the Day of Judgment approaching (Hebrews 10:24).

~Curtis Carwile