Christians Need to Get Out of the Salt Shaker!

Saved in Order to Do Good

3 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

Paul is always interested in the behavior of the early Christians as a result of their being saved by God's kindness and mercy.  No one has any reason to brag about how holy they are, because we have made holy by what Jesus did for us and the rebirth and renewal of Holy Spirit. In these first three verses, Paul tells Timothy to remind the believers that their behavior should be characterized by a few important things.  

First, he tells them to be subject to governing authorities.  He says this as well in Romans 13.  By living according to the laws of the land, the early Christians would set themselves apart from those who tried to start insurrections and riots to overthrow the government. Though we may not always agree with the government, we are called to be obedient and get involved political process if we want to change things.  There are many issues in our democracy right now and it will important for Christians to heed Paul's instructions.  Christians can show they are different by the way they interact within the political environment we are living in right now.  

Second, he says be ready to do good.  Christians should always be on the look out as to how we can help those in need.  We should be leading and organizing charities that help the very weakest in our society.  We should be protecting people who can't protect themselves, especially children of all ages.  When we do good things in our communities we are letting our light shine to give glory to God.

Finally, Paul says to be peaceable to everyone and not slander others.  Our deportment should be gentle, reflecting the attitude and nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers".  Again there is so much divisiveness and virtriol in our society that Christians are in an excellent position to step above the fray.  We need rise above the pettiness, gossip and character assasination we see all around us and be difference makers.  

You can see that most all of these behaviors happen as we interact in the world.  It is easy to stay in the "comfy confines" of our churches, but God calls us to be the salt and light of the world.  We need to get "out of the salt shaker" and give flavor and preserve a rotting world.