INDIRECT INFLUENCE
You may jump at me immediately, saying, "Are we going to ignore society and betray our country? Are we going to overlook things while races are being oppressed, nations are being harassed, and classes are being exploited?"
I can only give a simple answer to this: we can only be concerned for one thing. The Bible shows us what this one thing is. The rest is not our responsibility. When a man is saved, he will naturally be beneficial to society. He will naturally be an asset to his community and nation, and he will naturally not be injurious to others or animals. There is no question about this. We have only one direct work, and that is to evangelize. The result will automatically be carried over to the community and nation. However, this result is only indirect fruit. We are primarily concerned with the spiritual outcome; the physical one will definitely be taken care of. When we take care of individuals, society at large will reap the benefits.
SAVE OTHERS
Our job is not to deal directly with the problems of our nation, reorganize our institutions, or revolutionize our political system. We are not here to directly settle the problems among races. We cannot find these kinds of commandments in the Bible. What the Bible shows us is that we should do our best to save others and solve the individual problems of sin and sanctification. When sinners are saved, they will automatically affect their community, nation, and human institutions. But all this help is rendered indirectly. We do not deal with them directly.
LIGHT AND SALT
The Lord Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world." Some misinterpret these words and stand up to propose that we should make our world a brighter and cleaner place.
But we have to realize what light and salt are. The Bible only shows what light is in one place. Ephesians 5:13 says, "Everything that makes manifest is light." Light is that which exposes. As a Christian, to be the light of the world means that you expose the people around you. For example, if everyone around you is an alcoholic and none has ever been uneasy about it before, your presence will convict them of their wrong. Or perhaps they are all gamblers and insensitive to their sinfulness. Your presence will make them feel ashamed. Everyone around you is quarrelsome and provocative. But you only smile at them without participating in their activities. Your presence will convict them of their corruption. This is what it means to be a light. When you expose their wrong in their midst, you are a light to them.
We are merely lights. We are not here to burn up the casinos, round up the outlaws, and reform society. To be a light means that formerly others did not know what is evil, but your presence as a Christian convicts them of their vices. Light is what exposes everything.
(The Normal Christian Faith, Chapter 15, by Watchman Nee)
