“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14 NKJV
If a line manager looks at you and says, “You are the smart one in this department,” that means everyone else is dumb, automatically. If your parents look at you and say, “You are the fine one,” then your siblings fall short in beauty.
This contrast is what Jesus created in the anchor scripture. To say that we are the light of the world means that the world is dark. When you stay in a dark place for so long, you get used to it.
At the slightest glimmer of light, you cringe, and you shield your eyes because your eyes adjust, and your very existence doesn’t want it at that time. If the light disappears at once, you quickly go back to normal. If the light stays and gets brighter, you either run or your eyes adjust to the point where you can face the light and walk towards it.
This illustration is why Jesus made it clear that being the light of the world is no easy task. The work ahead isn’t about shining so that we become celebrities or influencers. Those are by-products.
When you truly attempt to shine through your work, people will shield their vision from you because they can’t understand what you’re doing.
This discouragement makes us put out our lights fast and blend with the darkness so we get accepted. But those who keep shining, regardless of the slow results, rejection, and trolling on social media, eventually attract those who decide to face the light.
How can we consistently shine brightly so that our work attracts others?
I have learned that when we focus on the acceptance and appraisal of others, we miss the mark. For a long time, I was concerned about the number of people who subscribed to this newsletter.
As someone who writes, the number of people who read signifies acceptance. If people don’t read or engage, then I interpret that to mean I wrote nonsense.
This wrong focus contributed to why I stopped being consistent in the past and kept looking for the next shiny platform to use.
The moment I realised what the enemy was trying to do with my mind, after five years, I changed my focus and decided just to study and write, regardless of who read it or gave it a thumbs up.
It was at that point that I felt I was guided to make the right decisions, and a new discipline was built up in me. Remember that God is more interested in who we become than what we can acquire.
The accolades of others can eventually turn into stones thrown at you. If you don’t believe me, see how social media fans turn on their favourite influencers in seconds.
When this happens, the truth behind why you work will be tested. Will you stand or adjust your message to suit the audience? It’s my prayer that I stand and that you do too.
“To be the light of the world, I will shine brightly in the following ways…”
Shining brightly has a price. What work are you willing to focus on, dismissing the validation of others?
Make a list and decide how you will focus on what you need to do while taking the opinions of others as feedback and not deciding factors.
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