At his funeral service, Dean Smith the legendary basketball coach of the University of North Carolina for thirty-six years was eulogized as “more than a coach” by players including greats like Michael Jordan.
The coach’s influence as second father, mentor, and Christian role model was spoken of by more than a few athletes who had played on his teams.
In his book, A Coach’s Life, Smith devoted an entire chapter to his take on how his Christian faith had guided his life in all endeavors and relationships, both on and off the basketball court.
Positive Christian influence does indeed make a difference for good when we take the Christian challenge to be distinct, not extinct - and when we make it happen in life situations.
Jesus described how this is to be done in the Sermon on the Mount. In the first part of the sermon, he laid out those eight principles of happiness called the Beatitudes - a crescendo of Christian distinctiveness.
Think of the beatitudes as a steady progression toward spiritual maturity - from poor in spirit, into a state of mourning, emerging stronger than ever (meekness), with a real hunger and thirst for righteousness, the further progression of which changes how we view and relate to others. Hence, mercy becomes our natural response to the plight of others . . . we become purer in heart to the extent that our reputation for right thinking and right acting casts us in the role of peacemakers who can be trusted, a role that carries with it one caveat: peacemakers don’t fare well with those who resent righteousness getting in the way of their selfish ambition. Just think of Jesus. His righteousness exceeded (was far superior to) that of the Pharisees, but this reputation of His got Him into trouble with religious authorities because He included them in His call to repent, deny self, be “born again” and live a new life of love for God plus love for others. The unrighteous and self-righteous alike resented Him like crazy! He blew their minds! He unsettled their nerves! He overturned the money tables of corrupt temple officials!
Nonetheless, His goal for those who would renounce sin as a way of life and follow Him as the way, the truth, and the life was that they become mature Christians whose lives (attitudes and actions) would reflect His teachings and His example. To help them understand the challenge He had just set before them in the eight Beatitudes . . . their role in taking the challenge, Jesus used metaphors that they and we could easily grasp and relate to – Matthew 5:13-16 . . .
Metaphorically speaking, Beatitude Christians (“new creations in Christ Jesus”) are to function in this world as effectively as salt and light perform tasks for which they were created – functions with which everyone in that day and ours could identify.
If salt is to be effective, it must be the right kind and used in the right way. That is to say, some substances called “salt” are not really salt. The flavor is there but the savor is not. There is a difference, although thin, between flavor and savor - a distinction I am deliberately making for a specific reason: You can fake flavor but not savor!
Some folks think they are the same. That’s fine. But to think so is to limit an interpretation of this metaphor. (I have always believed that our Lord’s verbal teachings are multilayered and therefore to be discerned and deciphered so as to discover each and every aspect of its application to life).
Savory salt is effective yes as a seasoning . . . preservative . . . preventive . . . but it is also effective as a powerful, productive, necessary element for achieving chemical balance in physiology.
In thinking of salt as savory, it is important to point out that, in my opinion, Matthew makes it applicable to the need we Christians have for spiritual balance in our thinking and acting effectively as one Identified with Christ. For, you see, the Greek word (phroneo) used by Matthew, to relate to us what Jesus said about how to function in this world effectively, literally meant “to set one’s mind on” - and if one’s mind, certainly one’s heart. To be a savory follower of Jesus, is to set one’s mind and heart on Christ and His way of righteousness.
Mature Christians influence others by seasoning situations . . . preserving fundamentals of the gospel . . . preventing sin from getting a strong foothold in their lives again - made effective by setting their minds on the things of God and by setting their hearts on letting others see Jesus in and through them.
Recall the incident where Jesus whirled around and pointedly told Peter: “Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you do not ‘savor’ (have in mind or have your mind set on) the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23) Maturity of thinking and acting says to oneself, “Let this mind be in me as it was in Christ Jesus . . . who made himself of no worldly reputation, taking the very nature of a servant . . . therefore God exalted Him . . .”
Mature Christians are the salt of the earth. Your challenge and mine is to be one of them . . . Be the salt that influences someone to hunger and thirst after righteousness the way you do. You cannot make them drink. You can, however, make them thirsty. I know the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” That is true, BUT, you can take him by the salt lick on the way.
You know what? Jesus may have paid Christians the highest compliment we could ever be paid when He told us that we would be what He Himself was: “the Light of the world.” Not in the sense that we are to generate our own light, but in the sense that we are to reflect the Light that He is. Be a reflection of Christ! Since light is first and foremost something to be seen, Christianity is to be seen. Just as the always lit lamp inside a Jewish house was taken out from under the clay pot where it was kept while the folks were away or asleep, and it had to be put on a lampstand to be seen and thereby effectively light up the place when it was needed, Christians are to shine as lights in a world of darkness.
We are to let our light shine all the time. We may try to hide it, shield it, disguise it, privatize it, or in other ways make it less apparent, but when we do, our light flickers, our witness falters, it becomes less and less effective until it is extinguished and rendered extinct.
To render Christian influence extinct is exactly what the self-righteous and the unrighteous want in order to insure non-interference from Christians when it comes to establishing unholy alliances with the rulers of darkness.
To be distinct not extinct, to counter amoral and immoral cultures, to make a difference by exerting a positive Christian influence, Christians are to be guided by the light of God’s Word . . . heed the light when it warns us of danger ahead . . . let our light of love for God and love for one another shine.
To be distinct openly and unashamedly is to be an example of the believer in word and in deed - wherever we are and whoever we are with - not to draw attention to ourselves but, regardless of when and where the opportunity presents itself, to do the right thing for the right reason for the glory of God! Let our prayer be: Lord, I want to be a Beatitude Christian in my mind, in my heart, in my day by day friendships and relationships.
Lord, I want to be salt that preserves and savors in just the right amount to be an effective Christian influence.
Lord, I want to be a light that reflects the character of Christ so that people will be drawn to that True Light and come to know Him whom to know is not only peace, joy and happiness in this life but more importantly in the life to come, and throughout eternity. Amen.
