Salt and Light
Perhaps you’ve thought a time or two that if only everyone would just listen to me, the world would be a better place. I know I have. There’s quite a bit of hubris in that sentiment, but I think it’s a natural notion when the world around us seems to have gone mad. Kind of like the world we live in right now. But, of course, there are a couple of problems with the idea. First, I don’t really have all the answers to all of our problems. At best I have some meager suggestions about how we might work better together to find some answers. Second, we can’t force anyone to change, much less the world as a whole. The best we can do is change ourselves.
I recently came across a little story about a wealth man who was bothered by severe eye pain.1 He consulted many doctors and underwent many treatments, but the ache persisted more strongly than ever before. Finally, he called a monk who was renowned as a healer. The monk consulted with him and told him that he should concentrate only on green colors and not let his eyes fall on any other color. It was a strange prescription, but the millionaire was desperate and decided to try it. He hired a group of painters and purchased barrels of green paint and directed that every object that was likely to come within his vision be painted green.
When the monk returned several days later to check on his progress, the rich man’s servants saw he was wearing a red robe and so they ran to pour buckets of green paint on him so their master wouldn’t see a color other than green. The monk laughed at the indignity of being doused in green paint and said, “If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles worth just a few dollars, you could have saved these walls and trees and everything else, including a large share of your fortune. One cannot paint the whole world green.”
When the rich man was told how to heal his pain, he immediately threw his money at the problem, trying to change everything and everybody else in the world to meet his own needs. If only the rich man in the story had taken the time to look at things differently. Instead of trying to bend the world to his will, he could have adapted himself to the world, used green tinted glasses for his healing, and saved himself and those around him a lot of trouble. Likewise, we cannot force the world to change, but we can work on changing ourselves. Instead of trying to make everyone in the world be loving and just, perhaps we need to try on some love tinted glasses.
Ironically, when we change ourselves it can also change those around us. This is why Jesus calls his followers the salt of the earth and lights to the world.2 They change the world by first transforming themselves. When love, empathy, and justice are our guiding principles we want everyone around us to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. Like salt, we act to preserve life and make it “taste” better. We become protectors of not only human life but the natural world. That means becoming advocates for justice, fighting for health care, equality, fair immigration policies, etc.
That loving and compassionate work becomes a light in the darkness, providing hope to those who struggle to see anything worthwhile in this world. Of course, the wealthy elite in power don’t like it when light exposes their violence, corruption, and immorality. They’d rather operate in darkness, which is why they have turned to fascism, issuing threats and intimidating anyone who stands in their way. They want us to hide our light. They want to convince us we don’t have any power to stop them or change the world for the better, but each of us does have a light within us fueled by love. It only needs a spark of compassion to burst into flame.
The best thing about love is that there is an infinite supply if only we tap into it. We can give all of our love away and there is still more to give. In fact, the more love we give away, the more we have. We never run out. When we each hold up our own candle, our own unique mix of talents and gifts, it can make a huge difference in the darkness. The smallest actions can have the biggest ramifications. Think about how something so small as a smile or kind word can have a huge effect on us. And if we let the light of love within ourselves combine with the light in others, it becomes a blazing beacon. When we bring our candles of loving spirit together in community, how much brighter it gets!
Those who live for others, supporting and nurturing each other, feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless, reveal the best of humanity. They are the lights which shine in the darkness and it is by this light that the world will be changed and healed. Our world right now is in need of light. We are that light. We are the salt for the earth. May we all shine brightly with love and compassion. May we bring flavor to life, bringing truth and justice and the dawning of a new reality.
How can we bring a bit more light to the world today?
1. https://www.requestingwisdom.com/short-stories-of-wisdom
2. Matthew 5:13-20