What Fellowship has Light with Darkness?

If you’re a believer in the Lord and His Word and are living for Him, you’re probably quite familiar with what the Bible says and teaches. However, even long-time believers need reminded of the basics sometimes and need encouragement in their daily walk. Today I want to encourage you to stand up for what you believe in, even when it’s hard.

As followers of Christ, we are meant to live differently than the world. That means we think and speak differently than non-believers, and make choices that not many people will understand. Sometimes it can be awkward and even scary to choose “different,” and I think that if you’re never uncomfortable, your heart is probably not in the right place with God. Maybe you get put on the spot or made fun of for being the only one in your workplace that doesn’t cuss, or people don’t understand why you would give up a great opportunity because of your personal convictions. It gets especially hard when you make choices you believe are biblical, but people in your Christian community (like your church congregation) talk negatively to or about you for your decisions. I want to encourage you today to look to the Lord for strength, and not back down on or compromise your convictions!

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

The Bible clearly tells us not to be conformed to the world. This means we’re not supposed to go along with the ways of the world and bow down to its pressures and be like it. We’re meant to be set-apart and live in accordance with the teachings of God.

“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:28-32

“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” Proverbs 17:15

The Bible not only teaches us not to practice evil, but to not approve of those who practice it. I think we can all do better about standing up against the evil of this world. We’re told to resist the devil, and to be light in the darkness. We are not supposed to be accepting of the evil that the world is trying to pressure us all into. Basically anything that is popular in the world- beliefs, ideas, messages, etc.- is of the world/of the devil, and it often looks like something innocent or harmless. I think of kids’ movies when I think about this. So many kids’ movies have magic in them, like princess or fairy movies, and the magic is depicted to look so pretty and imaginary and fun, and sometimes even “good” or “white” magic and “bad” or “black” magic is depicted in opposition of each other in them. However, a couple synonyms of magic are witchcraft and sorcery. And besides that, I’ve realized that the use of magic is like trying to be like or equal to God or do things only He can do (like changing the seasons, for instance). Watching a movie with magic isn’t practicing the magic, but it is supporting it, because you’re spending your time and probably money to consume it. And to be completely honest with you, I still struggle with this specific issue, because I love my girly, fairytale, especially nostalgic princess movies! I try not to watch as much as I used to, and have tried to stay away from certain movies, so I’ve seen progress in myself, but even though I am trying to live to please God, and have been for a long time, I still have things I need to work on! We won’t become perfect, sinless people once we become followers of Christ, but we do need to change and make hard decisions along the way.

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” 2 Corinthians 6:14-15

Light and dark are opposites. That’s something we all probably learned from our first “opposites” books as toddlers. We should all be able to agree that light and dark are completely different and accomplish different things. We are the light of the world if we’re believers in Jesus, and are told to walk in the Light. We should have nothing to do with darkness at all. Anything not from God is of the devil. We have to be careful what we participate in and accept and encourage in this world. We may be supportive of our family and friends -the people closest to us- but we shouldn’t be supporting the things they do that are against what we believe as followers of God. I believe that supporting something can be as small as liking a post or picture on social media and as big as creating a church event participating in and promoting a worldly cause or celebration.

One reason it’s so important to look different from the world is so that non-believers will be able to tell we’re different and hopefully want what we have. If we’re doing what everyone else is doing, they won’t be attracted to our lifestyle, and if they know we call ourselves Christians, they won’t see how being a Christian is any different and won’t have any desire to become one. If someone says they’re a Christian but gossips and gets jealous and goes around being arrogant, that won’t look different from the world and won’t point to the Lord. But if someone leaves a conversation that starts to include gossip, or cheers on someone who is more successful than them, that will draw attention- not intentionally, but naturally.

No believer will ever be perfect, but we are supposed to let God change us. We cannot practice compromising. We learn things as we read His Word and get to know Him better; we just need to be open and obedient to Him.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7