"You are the salt of the earth . . . . You are the light of the world
. . . . Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16).That
text is often cited as if it were a mandate for the church to engage in
political activism—lobbying, rallying voters, organizing protests, and
harnessing the evangelical movement for political clout. I recently
heard a well-known evangelical leader say, "We need to make our voices
heard in the voting booth, or we're not being salt and light the way
Jesus commanded."
That view is pervasive. Say the phrase "salt
and light" and the typical evangelical starts talking politics as if by
Pavlovian reflex.
But look at Jesus' statement carefully in its
context. He was not drumming up boycotts, protests, or a political
campaign. He was calling His disciples to holy living.
The
salt-and-light discourse is the culminating paragraph of the
introduction to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It comes immediately after
the beatitudes. Jesus was pronouncing a formal blessing on the key
traits of authentic godliness.
What's most notable about the
beatitudes is that the qualities Jesus blesses are not the same
attributes the world typically thinks are worthy of praise.
The world glorifies power and dominion; force and physical strength; status and class. By contrast,
Jesus
blesses humility, meekness, mercy, mourning, purity of heart, and even
persecution for righteousness' sake. Collectively, those qualities are
the polar opposite of political clout and partisan power.
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