Salt and Light in a Dark Time

by Greg Quinn

October 28th, 2020

Matthew 5:13-16
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

One only has to look at the news to see the condition of our nation, and world, at this time. One would have to be blind to not realize we are in a dark period in the history of our country. I am not going to reflect upon the severity of the depravity of some people in our great nation but summarize the problems and give the solution. If you read this with an open mind, whether you are a Jesus follower or not, then you will realize that I am espousing the truth, truths that we can use in this day and time to help make our nation a better place.

We have riots in the streets of liberal-run cities that tolerate such. Antifa anti-government protestors are burning buildings, looting honest businesses, and murdering citizens. The liberal news media doesn't dispel the actions but instead places the blame upon our President. Until forced to do so, even Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have not talked against the actions of these domestic terrorists, and in fact support them. Socialist political agendas are being pushed on us by the leftist Democrat contingency, and liberal media is stating that this is the position of the majority of Americans today. Well, they don't speak for me, and I bet they don't speak for you either.

You may think there is little that we can do, but I must contradict that line of thinking. There are things you can do, as a citizen of the greatest country in the world, to stop this nonsense and let your voice be heard as the moral majority of America. 

First, understand that evil has been with us always. It has just reared its ugly head more prevalent now than in any period of my lifetime. Evil will continue, and the Bible says so.

Second, there are things we can do about it. Jesus talked to the multitude in the scriptures known as "The Sermon on the Mount" as recorded in the Gospels, and as referenced above in part as taken from Matthew chapter 5. Jesus told the people then, and it remains true for us today, that we are to be "salt and light" in the world in which we live.

Salt preserves. In that day, before refrigeration, salt was used to preserve things. Food was placed in salt as to preserve it and keep it from ruining. Without the use of salt, much food would go bad and could not be eaten and would be wasted. 

As a boy, each year we would kill hogs. Some of the hams and bacon we would put in a big wooden bin called a "salt box". After the fresh meat was placed in the salt box, it was filled with salt. Salt was rubbed into the meat, and salt covered the meat. This salt preserved the meat. At the given time, the meat was taken out of the salt box and it was preserved and could be kept in the open for months or years and still be good. Salt preserves. 

Jesus said we as people should be salt so as to be a preservative in our society. What are we to preserve? We are to preserve the moral teachings, the Biblical principles, the concepts of right versus wrong. We, the moral society, those that adhere to the teachings of the Bible and that believe in right over wrong, are placed here to be salt to preserve these teachings where they can be "eaten" by current and future generations.

Jesus said, however, that if the salt goes bad, if it loses its capacity to preserve, it is good for nothing. We must realize that if we allow society to get into us to the point where we accept the wrong teachings and believe the falsehoods and anti-God rhetoric of our current society, that our salt has lost its savor and we are good for nothing. 

Therefore, our salt must be fresh. Our word must be forceful and powerful against the ills of our society. Our life must be lived as one that is "in the world but not of the world", a life that lives the Biblical principles and teachings of God and that portrays the significance of the benefit of good over evil, right over wrong. If we allow the liberal media to shape our version of society instead of the Bible, if we accept the wrongs of our world as "that's just the way it is" and do nothing to change things for the better, then our salt has become worthless. We have the ability to preserve nothing if we do not use what God has put within us to do so. So let your life be lived in such a way that you seek to preserve within our society the teachings of God and the reality of right is better than wrong, and good is better than evil. Then your salt is good.

Jesus also teaches us that our light should shine brightly in a dark world. Something you should remember about light. Light displaces darkness. But darkness doesn't displace light. A room is dark in the absence of light. A world is dark in the absence of light. We ARE that light. When we as Christians and the moral majority of America shine our light of Godly truth in a dark world, then this light displaces the darkness just as a flashlight cuts through a dark night. We are placed in this world to be that light. 

Jesus told his listeners in that day that people don't light a candle and put it under a basket but place it where the light can shine and enlighten the entire room. We as people in modern times should let our light shine from the truth within us and enlighten the society in which we live. Again, Matthew 5:16 says it best: 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. So we, the moral majority, those that seek after right over wrong, those that try to do good rather than evil, we have an obligation, a God-given command, to be "salt and light". Jesus commanded us. So what are we doing about it?

SALT: We as the needed salt in this world should preserve the moral and Biblical teachings within us. We should preserve the Biblical values upon which our nation was founded. We should preserve the history of America, the good and the bad. We cannot allow a group to eradicate our history just because they don't like it. We should preserve the proper environment that is to be expected within our schools. I don't accept that our schools are right in the manner in which they teach our children. I don't accept the ungodly curriculum used in our public schools. I don't accept that it is OK for many of the arrested Antifa terrorists to be public school teachers in our cities. I don't accept that its OK for our schools to forbid our students to pray, discuss God, dispel the Bible, and such. I don't accept that we think its OK for our media to brainwash us with a liberal political agenda and we just sit by and watch how it is destroying the integrity of our society. I don't accept that politicians can determine what is right and wrong other than the morality upon which this country was built, which comes directly from the Bible. I don't accept that some evil judges and politicians can attempt to change our Constitution to better meet their political needs. I don't accept that we allow a small group of people to pull down our statues and attempt to change our history because they don't like it. I don't accept that the color of a persons' skin determines whether their life matters or not. I don't accept the destruction of the Bible-based society upon which our great republic was founded. And I bet you, as a reader of Gunblast. com, don't accept this either.

LIGHT: We are to shine as the sun in a dark world. Every day we see the news or read the papers, or just listen to what's going on amongst us, we recognize how dark the world is becoming. Evil seems to be outpacing good. Yet there are plenty of Christians in America and in the world that could make a difference, that could change the trend, that could actually change the face of America and our world, if we would just turn on our lights. Instead, we keep our lights off. We remain silent. We refuse to shine. Some of us cannot shine because our lens is contaminated; it is covered with filth so even if our light attempts to shine at times the light doesn't get out much because of the pollution within our lives. In this case, we need to clean our lens; clean up our lives so that when our light is turned on the light gets out into the world in which we live. Some of us cannot shine because our batteries are weak, or dead. We need a recharge of our batteries. We need to read the Bible more, listen to Godly teachings, pray more, seek God's face in the midst of our troubles. If we recharge our batteries and our lens is clean then we can shine brightly in a dark world. If we turn our lights on. Some of us just won't hit the switch to turn on our lights. Some of us, even those among us who have a clean lens (clean life) and who have charged batteries (spend time with God and are infilled with his power and wisdom) cannot shine because we won't turn our light on. We keep it hid. We don't let our voice be heard. We shamefully accept the bad that is happening in our society instead of trying to do something about it. We complain that our children act poorly and that the next generations of society are continually worse than those before it, yet we sit by and allowed prayer to be taken from our schools. We don't like what our children are being taught but we do nothing about it. We don't like the garbage that our liberal media portrays, yet we keep watching and believing what ABC, CBS, NBS, MSNBC, CNN, FOX and other channels tells us is the truth. We hate what's happening politically yet we won't vote. We see evil amongst us but we don't speak out against it. We have the answers, answers that comes from God in the Bible to instruct us, yet we won't use it to share with others the truth of how a godly society can exist through faith in Jesus Christ. We know the truth but don't share it. We know the benefits of salvation through Christ but are afraid to tell others. We enjoy a good church but won't invite our neighbors to join us. We refuse to shine.

If we don't accept these things, then we need to do something about it. If we haven't turned on our lights, let our life become dirty where we cannot shine, or let our batteries become weak, then we need to do something about it.

What can we do now? What should we do now? The list is long, but I can think of a few things that all of us can do at this time.

1. VOTE: We have a very significant election coming up in a few weeks. It is our responsibility as an American to do our part to shape our society through whom we put in office. We do so with our vote. Your vote is important. So it is important that you vote. More so now than perhaps anytime in your life.

Why is this election so important? There are two polarly opposed directions in this election. The distance between the two viewpoints are as distinct as light and dark, as east and west, as right and wrong. Whereas no person running is without their faults, and no political party is without its problems, in this election it is more clear than at any time in my life just how close we are as to losing our freedoms as Americans if we vote poorly. 

Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris have a very clear agenda which is directly opposed to what I believe as a Christian, what I want to retain as freedoms in our society, and what I believe each of our readers represent in your values. If you as a reader of Gunblast. com get the facts about Biden and Harris, I do not believe there is no way that you can cast your vote for them in this Presidential election in America.

Biden-Harris want to take your guns. They have been very clear about this. They continually subvert your Second Amendment rights as citizens of America and will use their political powers to change the law and make it illegal for you to own guns and ammo and defend yourselves and your family and possessions as the provisions afforded us in the Second Amendment. So if you want to lose your right to keep and bear arms, cast your vote for Biden-Harris.

Biden-Harris are pro-abortion. They are very clear in their political position in that a baby can be aborted at any time it is in their mother's womb. They even promote (as part of Obamacare which they intend to bring back) the refusal of aid to a baby who is born after a failed abortion attempt; they decide to just let the baby die. This my friend is not "pro-choice". It is "pro-murder". How does any one person make a decision that it is OK to murder a baby? Do they not know that the baby is a person and alive in a very short time after conception? They know, yet they don't care. If we condone the murder of innocent babies through casting our vote for Biden-Harris, then we have turned off our lights and our salt has lost its ability to preserve what is good and moral. 

Biden-Harris are against the Biblical concepts of marriage. The Bible clearly defines marriage between one man and one woman. Yet Biden himself carried out the marriage ceremony of two of his gay staffers at the end of his VP tenure. Biden and Harris have been very vocal that anyone should be able to get married and have the benefits of such regardless of sex. This is against the Bible and against the tenants of a godly society. 

Biden-Harris are against your religious freedoms. They are for the repeal of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that protects the rights of healthcare workers who refuse to work in abortions and the rights of adoption agencies who refuse to grant adoptions to any other than man-woman married couples. Biden will bring back part of Obamacare which mandates that church and religious organizations and schools provide birth control to children. Biden wants to use the coronavirus issues to shut down our society again, including churches. A Biden-Harris ran America will circumvent the religious freedoms we hold dear. 

Kamala Harris is a known socialist. She is known by non-partisan groups as the most left-leaning person in the US Senate. Do a Google search for yourself and you can see how she was trained into socialist adherence. Joe Biden accepts Bernie Sanders socialist agenda. The Democratic party accepts the Marxist agenda of Antifa and other groups. They accepted the violence in America's cities. The socialist agenda seeks to destroy or silence churches. Socialism always leads to totaliarism where the Government seeks to replace God. America is the land of the free and home of the brave. We are a free republic. We are not nor ever want to be a socialist country like Russia, China, or many others around the world. But Biden-Harris will take us there if elected. In a socialist society, you lose your freedoms.

Biden has been very clear in his position on taxes. He will raise taxes. You will pay more in taxes to support government initiatives that are against your moral compass. 

Biden-Harris policies will cause more poverty, less freedom, and more dependance upon the Government. That's their position. To take away American's freedoms, mandate how they must live, and govern them from Washington DC, to fall in line with their socialist positions.

Biden will send American jobs back overseas. He will destroy the tax benefits that Trump has positioned over the past 4 years. The US economy will falter. Our military will again be at the whim of other countries as it was with Obama, and we will be active in the UN and will support the benefit of other nations above the benefit of America. Our morality as a nation will decline. We will lose liberties and freedoms. Laws will be passed that are in direct opposition to our religious freedom. Babies will be murdered for any reason, and what's next?

Some point out the faults of President Trump. We are not electing him as our Pastor, but as the leader of our government in America. I believe that the facts of his accomplishments support that he has done an excellent job for Americans. We had the best economy and lowest unemployment at any time of our history. We had manufacturing coming back to America from China and other countries. We were an independent nation, not bowing to the whim of the United Nations or other countries. We had lower taxes. We had improvements in US infrastructure, with much more planned. Our military was strong again. We had freedoms to keep and bear arms. Churches were supported. Our freedoms were maintained. Trump and Pence are against abortion. Trump killed late-term abortion laws. Trump and Pence believe in the sanctity of marriage. 

If we as Christians let our lights shine through our vote, if we allow our salt to be part of the preservative of America, then we as Christians will support the reelection of President Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

2. ACT: If you don't like the curriculum in your school system, then act as a responsible parent in seeking to change the curriculum through your words and actions, or put your kid in a private Christian school that has a curriculum that meets your standards. If you don't like what you see and hear on TV news, turn off the TV. If you don't like what is happening in America, then use your lawful rights to change things.

3. PRESERVE: Jesus said we are the salt of the earth. Don't let your salt lose its savor. Work within your sphere of influence to help shape society in a positive manner by preserving the Biblical teachings that you know, the difference in right and wrong that you adhere to and share these teachings to preserve what is right about our nation. Become salt.

4. SHINE: We are to be the light within a dark world. If those of us who profess to know God and who believe in his teachings will not shine, then who will? If we allow the leftist organizations like Antifa to shape our culture, then how will we maintain what we know as America? The world around us will keep getting darker; that is predicted in the Bible. Only after Jesus' return will things make a drastic turn. However, we can shine as bright lights in a dark world and make it better than it is now and prevent further destruction of our society. Shine. It's our obligation.

2nd Chronicles 7:14 says this: 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Friends, our land needs healing. God has given us a prescription for this healing. Humble yourselves, pray, seek God, do good; then God will hear us and act to help us and will heal our land. Part of this action on our part is as commanded by Jesus: Become Salt and Become Light.

I pray that these words help guide your thoughts in this critical time in our nation. We as Christians, or as just good-hearted people, or as just people who don't want their freedoms taken away, can make a difference now and in our future.

I leave with you to SHINE. I wish to see your light.

God bless,

Greg Quinn

Got something to say about this article? Want to agree (or disagree) with it? Click the following link to go to the GUNBlast Feedback Page.