Shine as Lights
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”
Grumbling and disputing are sins which are so easy to fall into, especially in this day and age, when we are enveloped with instant gratification, we have everything we want and need at the touch of a button. But when things don’t go as we would like, it is so easy to complain about it, in fact it’s probably expected that we complain and grumble a little, especially when everybody else around us is doing it. But the fact that it seems normal because everyone does it, does not mean that grumbling or disputing should be done.
Our desire to grumble is a problem that is deeply rooted in our sinful hearts, it is a problem in a heart that lacks thankfulness. In Genesis 4 when Cain killed his brother Abel and God cursed him because of that, Cain responded by saying this, “My curse is greater than I can bear”, now it would have been just for God to kill Cain, so Cain should have been thankful for God’s mercy upon him, but instead he grumbles against God. And after God graciously delivered the Israelites from slavery, they grumbled against him in the wilderness, and actually wanted to go back to slavery. They were entirely unthankful. This problem with grumbling is deeply rooted in our hearts and is a problem with an unthankful heart that is devoid of praise for God’s mercy and grace.
But Paul encourages us to fight against the waves of the sinful culture, don’t grumble and dispute, for by not doing this, you will be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish. And you will shine as lights in a world that is crooked and twisted.
By not grumbling and disputing, this will be evidence that we are children of God. And by not grumbling and disputing we will shine as lights in a dark world with perverted ideals. Which sounds great, and is great, but it’s not easy; being a light in a dark world is not always pleasant because people don’t always like the light, the light reveals the truth - a dirty room seems okay when it’s dark, but when the lights come on the filth can be seen, and the room becomes very unpleasant to be in. And the people in the dark room will respond to this light in two ways,
1. Either they will run out of the room as fast as possible, get their cleaning supplies, and start cleaning the room.
2. Or they might get up, turn the lights off again and return to sitting in the dark room pretending everything is okay.
One of these responses is entirely reasonable, and the other is entirely unreasonable, I’ll leave you to decide which is which. But my point is that people don’t always like the light, for it reveals the truth, and the truth is sometimes hard to take in.
But by being a light in a dark world we will be shining Christ for all to see, so that those who are seeking the light might find Christ - the light - through us. How incredible is that, and what a high calling that is, to shine Jesus, the hope of nations, to all who are around us. What an awesome effect not grumbling or disputing can have.
