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Matthew 5.16 (NIV)
“In
the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good
deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
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| The purpose of serving others should never be to draw attention to ourselves.* |
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In the book Catch
22 (and the movie made from the book), the catch is that pilots who were
insane were exempt from flying missions but anyone who wanted to be exempt
clearly wasn’t insane so once you accepted the exemption you were no longer
eligible for it. This verse sounds a little bit like a Catch 22: if I let my
light shine before men, won’t they see me instead of God? If I do something well, how can I not get the
glory for it? On
the other hand, if I perform poorly, how can God be glorified?
At our church camp, the campfire area is located down
a dark path. When someone ahead of me carries a flashlight, I can see the way –
but I can’t see the person who is carrying the light. In the same way, when we
shine our lights on the path, we illuminate the path and God gets the glory.
Light doesn’t shine to call attention to itself but to
illuminate or reveal. But you can’t do either if you don’t have light.
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| Our light is not our good deeds but the means by which people see that they are good.* |
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