The Serenity Prayer (1)
Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, it cannot be made salty again. Salt is useless if it loses its salty taste. It will be thrown out where people will just walk on it. You are the light that shines for the world to see. You are like a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden. People don’t hide a lamp under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand. Then the light shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven."
In this disposable world in which we live, I mean think of the stuff we just throw away, I wonder if we haven’t developed a bit of a disposable attitude towards our relationships.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the serenity prayer. It goes like this:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
If you’ve ever wondered where it comes from? It was authored by the American theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, early in the 20th century and it’s been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and others. Sometimes we want to run away from things that hurt us – the dead-end job with the impossible boss, the difficult wife or husband. It’s only natural – cut ‘em loose and get on and enjoy life.
But what if God wants you to stay, to hang in there, to be His salt and His light in the lives of those people?
Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, it cannot be made salty again. Salt is useless if it loses its salty taste. It will be thrown out where people will just walk on it. You are the light that shines for the world to see. You are like a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden. People don’t hide a lamp under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand. Then the light shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.”
Should you stay … or should you go? Well, what does Jesus want you to do?
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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