Contagious
I want to speak today on being Contagious. This is a subject over the past 3 years that has received a lot of attention. The pandemic slapped us in the face with it. Think about this… our whole world changed over the fear of being contagious… sharing disease and getting disease. Schools closed down… Restaurants, movies, shopping centers, work places closed their doors. Before this took place it would have been hard to imagine that the world could come to a stop like it did over a fear of being contagious. That professional sports would not allow fans to come to a stadium. That family would have look into hospital windows to see love ones who were sick and dying. That the dead could not have a proper funeral.
Today’s message is not about covid… it is not about all we went through; but it is about being contagious and in what ways. You see with the pandemic it was not the actual disease that created the havoc as much as it was the fear. The fear was contagious… people were willing to do things they never thought they would of out of fear. And the fear spread… it spread faster and infected more people than covid ever did. You can look back and see how it spread. How the news reports would just increase the fear… so much that people would be willing to not see their family and friends out of fear. The fear was powerful and it spread with ease.
But we also saw other things become contagious… rebellion… conspiracy theories… defiance… These attitudes were contagious as well and they changed the make-up of the world around us. We can look back and we can see a variety of things that were contagious. Not all bad…
Some things and attitudes are contagious for the good. The way a neighborhood will rally around a neighbor in need as they face an illness or perhaps a house fire. Laughter is another thing that is contagious… Do you remember the video Coca-Cola put out of laughter on the subway… let’s look at this… (Coca Cola video on laughter in a subway on youtube)
Wow, isn’t that so much better than fear, anger, anxiety or so many other things that are contagious and spread without people intending to be impacted? The point of all of this is that our actions, our environments, attitudes are contagious to those around us and just as important… the attitudes, actions and so forth from those around us impact our lives as well… without you trying.
You live in the south long enough and you will develop an accent that gives away where you are from. You live in a foreign land and you may not learn the language but you will pick up a bit of their accent. So, what does this have to do with being a Christian? I hope it helps you to understand that who and what you have in your life will impact you whether you think so or not and vice versa understand that those around you will be impacted by your words, actions and deeds even if they did not intend for it to happen. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians to encourage them about nay sayers around them and to be careful…
Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33
He says to be not be fooled… if you are around people choosing the wrong things it will impact you. If you watch the wrong movies, with the wrong language it will impact you… do not say you tune them out and they do not bother you. The fact that it does not bother you should bother you.
It all starts out slowly and as time goes on you move your boundary of what is acceptable or not. Kind of like the metaphor of a frog in a pot of water. It says if you put him in boiling water he will jump out, but if you gradually heat the water; he will slowly cook himself to death. I am not saying how accurate that is but you do get the point from it. Nearly every bad situation we have found ourselves has evolved over time… from broken marriages, drug addictions, weight gain, etc… Over time these things took place slowly.
I am stressing this point in hopes that you will understand the effect that things have on us and get you excited about the effect you can have on others… but remember, it is slow in both ways. I am not talking years but just usually not in a minute either. Live your life in such a way that your life will be a positive influence on others to know Jesus the way you know Him. If you will make your life about spending time with God in the Word, in prayer and in service you will find that it continually changes you… makes you stronger… your light brighter. Live it on purpose and be aware of what makes you stronger and what has the potential to make you weaker.
I am going to say this even though you might shrug it off… your close friends should not be people who do not have a relationship with Jesus. I know you might say well how can I reach them if they are not around me? First, I am not saying to sever all ties with them but I would encourage you to limit the amount of time you spend and the activities you do with them. Secondly, I would encourage you that if you really do care for them, then do your very best to share Jesus with them. By how you live and what you do and don’t do. By your passion for the things of God… that they know you do not just go to church but you have a walking relationship with the Father. Understand this… you are to be the salt to them. A different flavor than what the world offers…
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. Matthew 5:13
Their experience with you should taste different than the world. If you are just the same old thing, just like the rest of the world what good can you do? How can you truly make an impact with them? If you are not impacting them then they are impacting you. You can deny it but it is true.
I want you to remember that your lifestyle, your relationship with God is contagious. Maybe not instantly, but it will make a difference. When you share about what God means to you… how He answered your prayers… how praise and worship lifted your spirit… how God gave you peace in a moment of trouble… This walk with God will have an impact and don’t they deserve that from you? If they leave because of then they leave… but they will know where to come to in a moment that has no hope.
You see it is a dark world we live in and it is getting darker by the day. The world has had a greater impact on the church than the church has had on the world in the last 50 years. Why is that? Because it has been corrupted... it’s good manners, it’s doctrine, it’s love for the Bible has been corrupted by all of the evil communication, words, attitudes around it. The biggest problem is that the church wants to be friends with the world… accepted by it… look like it. To appear as though there is no real difference in us and them. Ever since prayer has been taken out of school… ever since good communication has been removed from school the world has taken a bad turn…The church cannot be friends with the world. We are not enemies in sense of fighting them, but we are not to be like them, nor act like their life they choose is ok. The church is supposed to be the light in the darkness… let me make it more personal… you are to be a light in the darkness… Just like we are to be the salt, we are to be the light…
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14
Now stay focused here on the total topic… Contagious. What you do matters and has impact. It does not mean everyone in your life will come to the light and that will see positive change in all. You will have those who refuse, reject and rebel. Those who will not want to continue their friendship with you because your light exposes their darkness. It makes them uncomfortable. But is cannot be about who changes and who doesn’t. It is about you being the person God has called you to be. You shining the light of the good news for those around to see.
Listen to me… kindness is contagious… love is contagious… mercy is contagious… live life with the intent of infecting people with what you have. And do not allow yourself to be in the company of evil communication. Pay attention to who you let around you and do not be deceived in thinking it will not affect you
