As a 35-year-old, I see a different world today than it did as a teenager. Although I wasn't a typical teenager, I remember still having an optimistic outlook for the future, thinking of all the possibilities. As one ages in the world, the ability to see the good is overtaken by the bad. Seeing the light becomes harder as darkness closes in. The question becomes: How can we see the light and be the light?
As a 35-year-old, I look back to how I grew up. I find it humorous to realize I am using the phrase, "Well, when I was your age," when talking to my youth group. Trying to make sense of why darkness seems to be easier to see as one ages comes with realizing the way the world evolves as one ages. When I was an elementary-age child, I didn't have electronics at my fingertips giving me information 24-7-365. I rode my bike outside or played until the street lights came on or my mom called for me. I enjoyed the creation around me and made memories with friends who would play. As a teenager, the internet was a thing, but not what everyone spent their entire time on. People weren't fixated on having everything available to them all the time. I went with friends to parks, the mall, or movies. We spent time listening to music and speaking face-to-face. Even in the darkness of my teenage years, light was around me.
I graduated high school and left for college. The ability to be on the internet increased. Social media was taking off, and people were more glued to online content than ever. When I was in college, smartphones made their debut. I remember saying, for a long time, "I will not switch to a smartphone; I don't want to be like everyone else who can't put it down." As time went by, it became clear that it would be harder and harder not to have a smartphone. After getting a smartphone, I quickly noticed how much I was on it. It is still something I am aware of today. My phone is likely in my hand when I am not working on something important. You might be asking yourself what this has to do with light in the darkness, you know, the title of this blog. Life, post-college, became dark.
Everywhere one turns, bad news seems to be highlighted. The news is depressing because darkness sells more than joy. Individuals use social media to air their dirty laundry because it is easier than processing a situation in a manner that comes with developing healthy habits. Video reels of arguments or debates where individuals cannot talk to each other without interrupting and shouting are the status quo. The social norm has an egotistical mentality that says, "My opinion is the only one that matters, and if you disagree with me, then you are a type of phobic person." How are we not seeing how dark this is? Why are we, as a society, tolerating darkness coming from our mouths? What is worse, why are we teaching the younger generations to speak with malice to anyone with a different opinion?
I can say that I have made my mistakes. I have spoken with darkness and reaped what was sewn because of it. As a follower of Christ, it is hard to remember the light that we are supposed to hold within us that comes from our relationship with the Triune God. A relationship with God means having a promise that his light radiates within us and that darkness shall not overcome it. This is not just a gift that comes without effort from us. God doesn't magically take away the darkness from our lives. We have to try to cling to that light and ensure that we are the light in the dark world.
What happens when we actively react to darkness with more darkness? In basic Science, science 101, a negative and negative charge will repel. Thinking about a negative in photography, A negative in photography is an image where the bright areas of the subject appear dark, and the dark areas appear light. These negatives are typically created on transparent materials such as plastic or glass. By exposing sensitized paper to the negative, either through direct contact or by projecting the image onto the paper, the tones are reversed, resulting in a positive photographic print. If you want to make a lasting impact on a negative person, you need to be the positive light in the situation. Thanks to scientific laws, we know that opposites attract. Instead of fueling the world's darkness, a follower of Christ will take the more complex path and stand against it. Christ was consistently targeted through his three-year adult ministry. Every time he turned around, a priest, rabbi, Pharisee or Saducee, or Roman tried to disrupt the light he was bringing to the world. Jesus never combated hate with hate, instead Jesus referred to the importance of light, which has been a common theme throughout scriupture.
God's word has been associated with light since the Torah.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105)."
"You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light (Psalm 18:28)."
"When his lamp shone on my head, and by his light, I walked through darkness...(Job 29:3)."
"Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light (Micah 7:8)."
There are many more scriptures surrounding God and Light being synonomous. Christ said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.” Jesus made this comment during the Feat of the Tabernacles. Light was an important aspect of this feast, in fact, it was the Illumination of the Temple ceremony that brought forth this comment from Jesus. During the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) there was a ceremony called the "Illumination of the Temple." This ceremony involved lighting four golden oil-fed lamps in the Court of Women. These lamps were huge menorahs/candelabras (seventy-five feet high) lighted in the Temple at night to remind the people of the pillar of fire that had guided Israel in their wilderness journey. All night long, the light shone its brilliance, it is said, illuminating the entire city.https://www.jewishroots.net/library/holiday-articles/illumination-of-the-temple-ceremony.html
Christ set the example of what it meant to be a light in darkness. When he was rebuked, he responded with love. When criticized for "performing works on the Sabbath," he still chose to heal people. When he was called a sorcerer or user of dark magic, he revealed God through his words to those open to hearing what he had to say. Jesus taught his followers that darkness was part of life, but light would always prevail with God at the center of their lives.
Christ-followers will post responses or posts on social media with hateful rhetoric undertones under the guise of biblical content when the comments are nothing more than darkness. People, Christ-followers included, will hide behind a keyboard with their thoughts and opinions because they do not see their electronic expressions as having consequences. Yet, society will cry out for more efforts to combat mental health issues or bullying prevention. Do we see the hypocrisy in the situation? Society has become comfortable with a victim mentality. Victim mentality is when a person feels like a victim even when there is evidence that says otherwise. Victim mentality is a type of cognitive misinterpretation of how a person views the world and their own circumstances. Everyone else is the perpetrator. An article from Medical New Today identifies a study from 2020 that suggests that victim mentality may be a personality trait. Researchers refer to this as the tendency for interpersonal victimhood (TIV). Researchers explain this trait can span various types of relationships and include four dimensions or patterns. The four patterns are:
need for recognition
moral elitism
lack of empathy
We, as a society, cannot continue to live our lives with negativity and darkness. We cannot continue to want a birthday cake full of candles and then complain after we blow them out. This may mean you must be the face of Truth and light for others. There is a false narrative that truth is always kind. There is a reason for an old saying, 'Sometimes the truth hurts." Being truthful to someone may mean a blunt reality check that can appear harsh but still be spoken with love and light. Shedding light on situations provides an opportunity for growth—our job as Christ-followers is to plant, water, and shed light on the seeds. Perhaps it would do all of us (including me) to remember to stop feeding into the darkness that comes with technology and to do the word of God by channeling Christ's way: in person, face to face, following the path lit by God.
Let's unplug from the darkness and allow God to provide the light.
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