If you know me in real life, you know I sing, a lot. I’m not the best singer, but high school chamber choir helped me to learn to carry a tune. One of the earliest songs that I remember learning was This Little Light of Mine. My grandmother would sing it to me and I would sing with her. If you don’t know the words, it goes

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”

I believe it’s talking about the light of God. He wants us to let it shine and be a beacon of his light to the World. I certainly don’t feel like I’m on a moral high ground, I’m a sinner who is saved by the grace of God. But how often do we let our ”light shine”?
One of my favorite quotes ever is this

It relates back to the song, let your little light shine.

Why did I find it in my heart to share this now? My social media has grown to appear more and more divided. The overturning of Roe v. Wade has made that increasingly apparent. I’m not here to share my opinion or thoughts on that, but it has been sad to see opinions shared on both sides. Many of which seem to neglect the first commandment entirely. Aren’t we supposed to, “love they neighbor as thyself”? The tones that we often take with one another on social media are the complete opposite of that. Can we only love (and respect) one another if they believe like you or pray the same way that you do? How can we let our light shine when its dimmed by hateful words or hurtful actions?
Our Nation is so heavily divided right now, by so many different heated topics. Do you support the current President? Do you favor gun control? Are you pro-choice or pro-life? In honesty, it does it really matter? Or should it matter? I don’t believe any of the above issues are the real problem. I think the single biggest problem facing our nation is that we are a country that is greatly divided. Social media has made it easy to shame one another for our beliefs. Are we really in a position to shame anyone? We’re not supposed to judge one another. We are called to love one another, isn’t that the greatest commandment of them all? There’s very little chance that a rant on social media will change the conviction of someone’s heart about any of the topics above. So if you want them to believe in the love of God, shouldn’t you show them the love and grace of God in your actions? So the next time you see something on social media that you deeply disagree with can you ponder this before you decide to retaliate? Phillipians 4:8 reads, ”Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Shouldn’t we meditate before we respond? In our response, are we loving one another? Can we let our light shine without trying to dim the light of another?

I‘ll end by quoting this verse from Ephesians 4:31-32 which reads, ”Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Please consider using social media to ”let your light shine”.