Being Salt and Light in Our Divided Culture
Clearly, we live in an increasingly divided culture. Do we retreat, or do we engage this cultural chasm with a person-to-person and systemic response? Maybe, as Jesus said, we can begin to live as both SALT and LIGHT despite our differences.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, Caesar shows us three very important ways of living as salt and light in our divided culture. This is a “head, heart, hands” approach you can begin today.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- A surprising list of the things that are dividing our culture today.
- Why we want to start advocating for the underdog.
- How erring on the side of grace changes us–and them.
- Ways to keep an open door and an open mind.
From this episode:
“Hanging out with and defending broken, messy people–or those that have very different opinions than us–can be hard to do. When you stick up for those on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ or the wrong side of an issue, you’re actually showing love to Jesus. ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Jesus did not say to live this way only when we are in agreement with that person.”
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others…
Thanks for Listening!
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Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Coaching with Caesar and Tina in Everyday Disciple Makers.
Free Discipleship and Missional Resources
Transcript
Keep an open door and an open mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:Living with an open door means we're gonna let people into our lives, into our homes.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we're gonna make room in our schedules to do that for, for those who may be different than us or have extremely different opinions on life or religion, or politics and culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:This takes intention.
Caesar Kalinowski:Remember, we're talking about living as salt and light in a divided culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're not talking about how to avoid it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So yeah, guess what?
Caesar Kalinowski:You might need to open up your calendars, pick a night of the week, do something, invite someone over.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, you know, That family's very different than ours, or they're always putting out signs in their yard and I don't agree with it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Great, have 'em over.
Caesar Kalinowski:You'll be amazed at how much can change between two people or two groups of people, or two families if you just sit down and have a meal together and listen and discuss.
Announcer:Welcome to the Everyday Disciple podcast, where you'll learn how to live with greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
Announcer:In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle.
Announcer:This is the stuff your parents, pastors and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
Announcer:And now here's your host, Caesar Kalinowski.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, rocking today.
Caesar Kalinowski:Glad to have you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Glad to be doing another episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast.
Caesar Kalinowski:Thanks for being here.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's awesome.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let me ask you, are you getting outside more these days?
Caesar Kalinowski:It feels like, like the switch got thrown.
Caesar Kalinowski:I don't know if it's everywhere, but like, you know, in the whole country here, at least in America, I know we got folks family listening from all over the world, but here in the States, Like 90% of the country or something was under snow three weeks ago, and now it's like summer or at least a good spring.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it seems like people are out and about so I don't know.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm loving it.
Caesar Kalinowski:The people we've been coaching have been saying the same thing, which is all over the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like the opportunities for engagement seem to be way up again, and I gotta be honest with you, I, life just feels better when it's sunnier and warmer and all of that, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, I hope that's where, I hope that's the case where you're at.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's not been that way every day here.
Caesar Kalinowski:, but it's certainly we've turned the corner and not only with the weather, but like I said, with just how it feels and people's openness and, uh, a lot of stuff going on in the community.
Caesar Kalinowski:So that's awesome.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hey, I want to, uh, read a review that came in for the podcast.
Caesar Kalinowski:We always try to do that if we have time.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, here's one that came in from Kayla Proctor.
Caesar Kalinowski:I know.
Caesar Kalinowski:Kayla, she says Powerful, purposeful, practical.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Good.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:She says, are you stuck personally or in your ministry if you wanted to be challenged, encouraged, or equipped?
Caesar Kalinowski:This is the podcast for you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Caesar takes you beyond feelgood niceties and really gets to the heart of the matter and shows how we get to influence our communities through the lens of discipleship lived out in our everyday life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Kayla.
Caesar Kalinowski:It says if I wrote it myself and sent it to you, which I did not, by the way everyone, but I, I love when I have the time to.
Caesar Kalinowski:The reviews that come in, either through iTunes or Stitcher or whatever, you know, the different podcast players that are out there and you're using, would you take a moment and just do that same thing?
Caesar Kalinowski:What whatever you're listening to right now, if you're hearing my voice, then you are listening on something that'll allow you probably to subscribe to it so you get it every week.
Caesar Kalinowski:You don't.
Caesar Kalinowski:And well, and then if you miss, then you get two next week.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then also if it allows you to leave some sort of a review and some stars, I would appreciate that.
Caesar Kalinowski:It helps encourage other people.
Caesar Kalinowski:And just like Kayla's here, this little review kind of helps explain what the show's about, but from her perspective, and I appreciate that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, I have a nifty little link that'll take you to all kinds of different.
Caesar Kalinowski:Platforms.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you're maybe listening on our website or sometimes you listen on your laptop and other times on your phone, you can just go to everyday Disciple dot com slash subscribe.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:slash subscribe, and it'll take you to a page with a bunch of little cool stuff there.
Caesar Kalinowski:All right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, please do that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I really appreciate the show here.
Caesar Kalinowski:The podcast is, uh, no charge.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, we don't have any pay and sponsors and uh, but that helps us, that helps us just grow and get more people understanding how to live a lifestyle of discipleship.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, thanks.
Caesar Kalinowski:And if you are loving what you've been hearing on the podcast recently, you find it encouraging and helpful.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, and you'd like to maybe go a little deeper into this lifestyle of discipleship, but with a little bit of help.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, we, we coach people in this life.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what, that's what I do with most of my day, is help others make disciples who make disciples, help leaders, pastors, churches, set up frameworks and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So if you're interested in learning.
Caesar Kalinowski:more of a full framework for discipleship and mission and how it can fit into everyday life.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you want to grow in your gospel fluency, that ability to, you know, speak the good news of the Gospel into every issue, kinda like we do here on the podcast.
Caesar Kalinowski:I would love a chance to tell you more about the coaching that we offer, I'd love to set up a short zoom call so we can get together and I can, you know, better answer any questions you have, get to know you a little bit and hopefully get you started with Tina and I right away.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, that's right.
Caesar Kalinowski:I said Tina and I cuz we coach as couples and we strongly recommending, uh, strongly reccomend.
Caesar Kalinowski:That you be coached as a couple if you're married.
Caesar Kalinowski:And if you're not well, then we'll coach you by yourself.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, you can get a whole lot more information and, , even fill out a little bit of, a little bit of a form and I can get in touch with you, , by going to everyday Disciple dot com slash coaching.
Caesar Kalinowski:Even if you've just been kind of wondering about it, you've heard me talking about it before, or you're thinking, wow, I'm, I'm tired of being a little stuck.
Caesar Kalinowski:The weather's getting nice.
Caesar Kalinowski:How do we start to engage our neighbors or help our church do the same?
Caesar Kalinowski:Please go check out that link.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's hop on a call and, you know, there's no obligation or anything.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'd just, I'd love to meet you and talk to you.
Caesar Kalinowski:All right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not too long ago today, just before getting, really getting on here to record this episode, I finished up a telemedicine.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, you know what that is?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like where you, instead of going to see a doctor, you just set up a Zoom call with them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Nothing wrong, just a consult.
Caesar Kalinowski:, but it, it really dawned me.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow, are we doing life in Zoom and through screens these days?
Caesar Kalinowski:And I mean, I'm pretty old buck, but I love technology.
Caesar Kalinowski:But my screen time, not just my phone official app screen time, but my screen time between my laptop.
Caesar Kalinowski:All day, , phone and TV and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's pretty much off the charts.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and it started making me as I was thinking about that, cuz I was like, wow, this is kind of a new thing, meeting a doctor online.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it felt pretty much just like going to the doctor except I didn't have to wait around.
Caesar Kalinowski:They call me and they said, go ahead and hop on.
Caesar Kalinowski:, I started thinking about this and I think it might even play into what we're gonna talk about today here on the Everyday Disciple Podcast.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're gonna talk about being salt and light in our divided culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I, and I was wondering maybe our divisions have somethings.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not, not completely, but something to do with living more isolated, like more and more isolated living through screens, and we're living in ways of our own instant choosing.
Caesar Kalinowski:Think about it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Everything's kind of a click away, but clearly we live in an extremely and increasingly divided culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:, all you have to do is flip on the television for two seconds or scroll through an Instagram or Facebook feed.
Caesar Kalinowski:We know this, we, we all know this.
Caesar Kalinowski:And the divide seems to get, be getting deeper and deeper and deeper, not better, and better and better.
Caesar Kalinowski:So clearly this technology in our sort of self isolation and all of our smarts and all the rallies and all the fighting is not making it.
Caesar Kalinowski:, what are some of the reasons for the divides that we have?
Caesar Kalinowski:They're numerous and they're growing.
Caesar Kalinowski:There seems to be an something new.
Caesar Kalinowski:Dividing us all the time here in our cancel culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:So clearly politics, that's a huge one, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, it just seems that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I don't know.
Caesar Kalinowski:In the last X amount of elections, at least here in the States in my life, the, uh, voting spent nearly 50 50.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then we fight about the count.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:How about religion?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Religion's a huge, huge divide.
Caesar Kalinowski:People are all over the place, and even within.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, your branch or whatever, like the denominations are splitting.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's hundreds.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think there's actually thousand plus denominations within Christianity.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, that sounds like a divide to me.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's just one Jesus, one command to make disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:One church, right, according to scripture.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, but remember when it used to be said that the two things you never want to talk about is politics and religion.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, those days are gone.
Caesar Kalinowski:race divides.
Caesar Kalinowski:Maybe more than ever, but I don't know.
Caesar Kalinowski:I horribly for certain, but I think that's a longstanding thing, socioeconomics, like the income people have between the haves and the have-nots, like wealth and poverty, that that gap is getting wider and wider.
Caesar Kalinowski:Politics.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, I already said that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, . I know I did.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's just cuz it's so huge.
Caesar Kalinowski:I had to put on the list twice.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, there's a technology divide like so many of us access technology and it's life changing for us.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're listening to this podcast right now.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're hearing my voice via.
Caesar Kalinowski:A whole lot of technology.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you think about what's really happening and how this podcast gets connected from me talking about it into a computer and through editors and uploaded to clouds, and then served up on servers and streaming, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:But not.
Caesar Kalinowski:Everybody in the world, in fact, a pretty high percentage, don't have the kind of access to technology that others have.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so therefore, things like telemedicine and work from home and school and education and all kinds of stuff don't have access to because they either don't have the technology, can't afford it, or they don't understand it or whatever.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, there's gender divides.
Caesar Kalinowski:Just now purely between male and female and you know, like whose rights and who's being trampled.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we've got privilege and these people don't have privilege, but there's also gender connected to sexuality and people wanting to change their genders.
Caesar Kalinowski:And there's l g BT Q issues that we've fought over and continue to, and it's not politically correct to give your opinion either way, but everybody does.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that that divides, there's geographic divide like some people.
Caesar Kalinowski:Again, here in the states that there's, there's gonna be an increasingly, uh, big divide between the geographics, like the flyover part of our country versus either the coastal elite, coastal elite or the big giant urban centers like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Those urban centers, if you notice, they're very different politically than all the surrounding counties around them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Huge divide there.
Caesar Kalinowski:What, what?
Caesar Kalinowski:Mean for us, there's age can be a big divide that's kind of longstanding.
Caesar Kalinowski:Just look at TV and shows and movies.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, old people don't understand the young people are gonna save the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've got our ideas.
Caesar Kalinowski:Gotta get rid of these old people.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can't remember what the movie was.
Caesar Kalinowski:It was a sci-fi movie a lot of years ago, but like, it was like all this turmoil and the young people were being trampled on and not listened to, so they finally got power and they were gonna get rid of every, and they said we we're gonna pass a law and no one over 35 gets to live or something like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Whoa.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, but, so that's an extreme, you know, example from a sci-fi show, but there is an age divide.
Caesar Kalinowski:. People always think that their generation ha, you know, did a better job than the next generation.
Caesar Kalinowski:And these kids today, they don't know, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:We've got the cancel culture that's creating all kinds of divide because it further isolates, it further closes our mouths.
Caesar Kalinowski:It, it drums up lots and lots of fear.
Caesar Kalinowski:. I did an episode on the cancel culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:That how the Gospel is good news to the cancel culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:Just not too many couple months back.
Caesar Kalinowski:You can dig that up if you didn't hear that.
Caesar Kalinowski:There are lawsuits now filed over everything.
Caesar Kalinowski:Everything.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like the world's become so litigious if I don't agree.
Caesar Kalinowski:Then I'm broken, offended.
Caesar Kalinowski:My rights have been somehow, I don't know, something.
Caesar Kalinowski:I don't.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:This depends on whose side, whatever they're speaking on.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so, you know, if I somehow am not happy, which I'm not, and I get to sue, well why wouldn't I?
Caesar Kalinowski:Because maybe I can get some money outta the deal and I'll show you.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so, I mean, there's just a, there's just a list that came off the top of my head.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's a lot of things dividing us.
Caesar Kalinowski:So like, what's gonna ultimately happen?
Caesar Kalinowski:How do we, how do we move?
Caesar Kalinowski:The ancient mystics.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, there's this old, old story told by mystics that about a, about this old man crossing, a rickety old footbridge that spans across a really big, deep valley like a gorge.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay?
Caesar Kalinowski:And when the old man reaches the middle of the bridge, winds whipping around and it's all starting to sway.
Caesar Kalinowski:He looks down.
Caesar Kalinowski:He's filled with fear and anxiety, and behind him is his known and comfortable past, but in front of him lies a very, very uncertain future.
Caesar Kalinowski:Should he go back to what's familiar or move forward toward the unknown and gradually in, in this sort of parable, his fear dissipates and he realizes that in order to continue on his journey, he must cross that bridge.
Caesar Kalinowski:Many people today face unparalleled uncertainty about their future with confusion connected to all of it because of deep disagreement about how this chasm might be, or even whether it should be healed.
Caesar Kalinowski:Some people don't think so.
Caesar Kalinowski:They really think that's that's natural and that's where we're going, and that's not our place and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so can humanity in general ever move forward?
Caesar Kalinowski:To a place where everyone respects one another's differences.
Caesar Kalinowski:As you know, like hopefully as Christians we're, we see everybody's an image bear.
Caesar Kalinowski:So those differences are some aspect of God that we're missing out.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, but what about their sin?
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, but that sin is something God created.
Caesar Kalinowski:Good that's been twisted, maybe cuz of fear or abuse or selfishness.
Caesar Kalinowski:But can we, can we learn to look differently at each other's lives and differences, or will we retreat into a set of isolated societies?
Caesar Kalinowski:with entrenched and intense divides.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, we just build our encampments.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think in many ways the church has kind of done that over the last bunch of decades, at least since I came to Faith, which has been a while.
Caesar Kalinowski:Seems like we kind of just build up our isolation and Tina and I have this, uh, Sort of phrase we use when we're driving around and we see a church building in their property, in parking lots surrounding it, and then it's gated.
Caesar Kalinowski:We always go, wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Nothing says, welcome.
Caesar Kalinowski:We love you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like a gate, like a locked gate,
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I, I don't know, I'm not there Again, I don't wanna throw stones at it, but I think probably you'd agree.
Caesar Kalinowski:that in some ways the church has just isolated from the problems with, you know, private schooling and more and more homeschooling and this, and, and I'm not throwing shade on either of those, but I think some of those things are how we have ended up isolated, even if we've done 'em for good reasons.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and some Christians take the stance that this is all, this divide and all that is just the effects of sin and there's nothing we can really do about it.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's just, it's gonna get worse and worse and worse, and then it's all gonna burn.
Caesar Kalinowski:Jesus is gonna come back.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, so they just, there's nothing we can really do about it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So they just retreat into that Christian bubble I was just talking about, even deeper.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then, you know, once in a while they come out to throw rocks.
Caesar Kalinowski:Whatever, you know, the sin de jure whatever the sin of the day is, and often now they do it from the comfort of their laptop or their phone through social media.
Caesar Kalinowski:Ick, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's not helping.
Caesar Kalinowski:It really hasn't.
Caesar Kalinowski:No one would say, wow, we're closer as a humanity now because of social media in the ability to hide and just chuck rocks at people.
Caesar Kalinowski:Man, it kills me when our family, right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Christians like brothers and sisters when we live that way.
Caesar Kalinowski:But I know, I know.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's so confusing.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, so do we retreat or do we engage this cultural divide at a person to person level, or do we engage it as a systematic response.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I, and I, I'm thinking about this and I'm wondering, can we, like Jesus said, begin to live as both salt and light In this increasingly divided culture, we find ourselves in.
Caesar Kalinowski:I mean, we just take a look at Jesus' words in the book of Matthew.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, Jesus is, is having a talk with his disciples, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:His buddies.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, and it's directly on the heels of him laying out the Be attitudes.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's all part of the Sermon on the Mount, and I'm not sure why it's called a sermon.
Caesar Kalinowski:Isn't that interesting how our Bible's put that, or the Sermon on the Mount?
Caesar Kalinowski:He's sitting on the hillside there on the ground with his 12 closest friends.
Caesar Kalinowski:any who?
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, and he's speaking to them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Remember, this is a part of the, you know, right after the attitudes, he's speaking to them at a time that the cultural worldview was as divided as had ever been in the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:The Jews saw the world as clearly divided between Israel and everyone else.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's just how they saw it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And this is what Jesus tells his disciples as they sit there on the dirt on a hillside.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is Matthew five, sort of starting at 13 says, you are the salt of the earth.
Caesar Kalinowski:But if salt loses its saltiness, its flavor, how can it be made salty again?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, I, I was doing a little digging on this and I'm gonna go on in that passage, but if salt has lost its flavor in the original language that Jesus spoke that in, actually it's weird.
Caesar Kalinowski:It says it lose its flavor.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like to be foolish or to act foolishly.
Caesar Kalinowski:To make flat and tasteless.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what, isn't that crazy?
Caesar Kalinowski:So if salt, which is a purpose to make things taste good, and I, and I know it also can act as a preservative, but really here what's talking about is, is if salt loses its saltiness, it becomes foolish.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's useless, it's flat and tasteless and it's just, might as well throw it out.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's not act foolishly in light of the divide here.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, the message version of that same passage in Matthew five 13.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love how it says this.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let me tell you why you're here.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is Jesus talking.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let me tell you why you're here.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're here to be salt seasoning that brings out the God flavors of this earth.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?
Caesar Kalinowski:You've lost your usefulness and you'll end up in the garbage.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, oh, it's so good.
Caesar Kalinowski:You are here to be salt seasoning that brings out the God flavors of this earth.
Caesar Kalinowski:That sounds like bringing joy and glory to God and richness and beauty.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right, and, and.
Caesar Kalinowski:Preserving what's good and helping people get to that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that sounds like the opposite of chucking rocks and hiding out and being divided.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now going on, uh, in the niv, Jesus says, and you are the light of the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:So he, he takes this analogy of salt and then he goes on and he goes, you're the light of the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:A town built on a hill can't be hidden and neither do people light a lamp and then put it under a bowl.
Caesar Kalinowski:Instead, they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone.
Caesar Kalinowski:In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and therefore see what God's like glorify God, your father in heaven.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and again, I gotta, I gotta share with you the message version.
Caesar Kalinowski:It makes it so clear and beautiful to me.
Caesar Kalinowski:That same passage after talking about, you know, you're to be salt seasoning that brings out the God flavors of earth.
Caesar Kalinowski:It goes, here's another way to put it.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're here to be light.
Caesar Kalinowski:Bringing out the God colors in the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:God's not a secret to be kept.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're going public with this as public as a city on a hill.
Caesar Kalinowski:If I make you light bears, you don't think I'm gonna hide you under a bucket, do you?
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm putting you on a light stand now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand, shine.
Caesar Kalinowski:Keep open house.
Caesar Kalinowski:Be generous with your lives by opening up to others.
Caesar Kalinowski:, you'll prompt people to open up with God too.
Caesar Kalinowski:This generous father of ours in heaven.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now you see how like we're talking about how to be salt and light in a divided culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:Doesn't that sound like exactly like what we need?
Caesar Kalinowski:And remember, Jesus is talking to his disciples here, sitting around the dirt, having a conversation with his buddies in a very, very divided culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you know, after going through the be attitudes, he's given them this.
Caesar Kalinowski:, there's a lot in there for us.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, so given the high probability right now that not everyone we encounter will wanna receive our saltiness, our flavor, and our light bearing as good news, um, not automatically, at least how do we live as salt and light in a divided culture?
Caesar Kalinowski:Let me, let me give you three ideas I've got here.
Caesar Kalinowski:First one is be an advocate for the underdog, Uhhuh . Be an advocate for those that are different and, and sort of the marginalized and maybe they have a voice that you don't like so often.
Caesar Kalinowski:We don't really want to hang out with the underdog.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're, they're usually pretty broken and needy people.
Caesar Kalinowski:and that makes us uncomfortable.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or we look at the situations that people on the other side of an issue or divide, you know, have, be it racial or political or gender identity, et cetera.
Caesar Kalinowski:We look at, the situations they're in.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and we don't wanna advocate for their care and restoration.
Caesar Kalinowski:I wanna encourage you, be an advocate for those people.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're not condoning anything.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're looking at their situation.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're seeing 'em as image bears and the way that Jesus sees them.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're starting to salt it up, you're starting to shine some light on the situation that they might be helped.
Caesar Kalinowski:Look at Proverbs 31, 8 to nine, and this is also in the message.
Caesar Kalinowski:It says, speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the misfits.
Caesar Kalinowski:Speak out for justice.
Caesar Kalinowski:Stand up for the poor and the destitute.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's from Proverbs.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's Isaiah one 17.
Caesar Kalinowski:Say no to wrong.
Caesar Kalinowski:Learn to do good work for justice.
Caesar Kalinowski:Help the down and out.
Caesar Kalinowski:Stand up for the homeless.
Caesar Kalinowski:Go to bat for the defenseless.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, it's so good.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then here's another.
Caesar Kalinowski:Psalm 82, 3 in the NIV says, defend the weak and the fatherless uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's the Bible.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's so much in the Bible about this, and it's Why is it?
Caesar Kalinowski:Is it?
Caesar Kalinowski:Is it well?
Caesar Kalinowski:Is it speaking to divided culture?
Caesar Kalinowski:Of course it is.
Caesar Kalinowski:Cuz what happened at the fall, God and man were separated.
Caesar Kalinowski:Adam and Eve began to blame each other and hide.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's all, that's the story that we see of the fall is division.
Caesar Kalinowski:Of course, all this is speaking to that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Jesus said it this way, he says, I was hungry and you fed me.
Caesar Kalinowski:. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.
Caesar Kalinowski:I was homeless and you gave me a room.
Caesar Kalinowski:I was shivering.
Caesar Kalinowski:You gave me clothes, I was sick, and you stopped over for a visit.
Caesar Kalinowski:I was in prison and that was my fault.
Caesar Kalinowski:You came to me.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or maybe it wasn't truly, I tell you, whatever you did, for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know how we talk about treating everyone like family.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I know some people get flipped out on that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Only Christians are brothers and sisters.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, not according to Jesus, truly.
Caesar Kalinowski:I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Caesar Kalinowski:He's not talking about those people in your church here that that didn't exist, that that can't be the context he's talking about in life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters you've done to me.
Caesar Kalinowski:Healing the divide between us and others starts with defending the defenseless and sticking up for the underdog.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's beautiful.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, here's the second one.
Caesar Kalinowski:So first, first, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:The first one, be an advocate for the underdog.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's the second one, air on the side of grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:In your life, air on the side of grace, all that, you know, everyone on both sides of an argument or divided issue seems to talk about is seeking justice.
Caesar Kalinowski:We demand justice.
Caesar Kalinowski:You just turn on the news for 10 minutes.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're gonna hear that word a lot.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay?
Caesar Kalinowski:Go to court.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're gonna hear it a lot.
Caesar Kalinowski:Remember though, in scripture, The word, the Hebrew word for justice has the same root and meaning.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's really the same word as righteous and, and both carry with it the idea of, uh, to return or restoration.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, justice is about restoration.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've talked about that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I have a whole episode on that.
Caesar Kalinowski:You can Google that and find it, I'm sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Justice is about restoration.
Caesar Kalinowski:Restoration in the ways that God has always intended for this world, for everyone.
Caesar Kalinowski:That all gets accomplished by his grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:by his kindness.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what scripture says.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what leads to repentance.
Caesar Kalinowski:A new mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:And by the way, repentance means to return . Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Which, that's that same root again coming out.
Caesar Kalinowski:Grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what leads to this return, this restoration, this new mind about how this goes.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what starts to heal.
Caesar Kalinowski:A divide between us, between people, between groups, between us and God.
Caesar Kalinowski:So when you're thinking about an issue, when you're discussing an issue, faced with dealing with people involved in an issue, whatever it is, regardless of whose fault you think it is, go with grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:Air on the side of grace, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Grace is unmerited favor.
Caesar Kalinowski:So maybe someone's in a situation or a whole people group is in a situation and you look at it either politically or racially or whatever category and you go, yeah, well.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's cuz of this.
Caesar Kalinowski:And if you just stopped, grace is unmerited favor, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:God has shown you and me and everyone so much grace, so much unmerited favor.
Caesar Kalinowski:We get to be the flavor of grace in this world, which will be the brightest, light imaginable in the darkness of our current culture, I promise you.
Caesar Kalinowski:So maybe, maybe we need to stop worrying about who is right and who is wrong and who's fault something is so much, and go for grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, you'll never look back at your life and think, man, I was just too full of grace in my life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Should have been harder.
Caesar Kalinowski:In fact, when all is revealed and when we get to hang out with Jesus face to face, we will finally realize just how much grace and unmerited favor God has shown us.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we're gonna be undone.
Caesar Kalinowski:I know it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we're gonna, and then we're gonna rejoice forever.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what's gonna happen.
Caesar Kalinowski:. So, Be an advocate for the underdog air on the side of grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:And here's the third thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:Keep an open door and an open mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Keep an open door and an open mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:Living with an open door means we're gonna let people into our lives, into our homes, and we're gonna make room in our schedules.
Caesar Kalinowski:To do that for, for those who may be different than us or have extremely different opinions on life or religion or politics and culture, this takes intention.
Caesar Kalinowski:Remember, we're talking about living as salt and light in a divided culture.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're not talking about how to avoid it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So yeah, guess what?
Caesar Kalinowski:You might need to open up your calendar.
Caesar Kalinowski:Pick a night of the week, do something, invite someone over.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, you know that that family's very different than ours, or they're always putting out signs in their yard and I don't agree with it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Great.
Caesar Kalinowski:Have 'em over.
Caesar Kalinowski:You'll be amazed at how much can change between two people, or two groups of people, or two families if you just sit down and have a meal together and listen and discuss and, and humility.
Caesar Kalinowski:Shows us to always have an open mind to the experiences and understanding of others.
Caesar Kalinowski:That that's, that's a humble position, not, not self-righteous.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'm always right, like right.
Caesar Kalinowski:We wanna have an open mind to others' experiences and the way they see the world, especially if we've not walked a mile in their shoes, or a hundred miles or a decade of walking and experiencing life and work and respect in different ways than we have.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's the best thing we can do.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're living our lives more isolated than ever.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's not helping, and we live lives more of our own instant choosing than ever.
Caesar Kalinowski:Open up your schedule, your home, your hearts, to be with people, to talk to.
Caesar Kalinowski:Get to know and share your story.
Caesar Kalinowski:Get to know their story, and share your story of redemption.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let the light of the Gospel tune and retune your ears and salt your words in beautiful and flavorful.
Caesar Kalinowski:So be an advocate for the underdog air on the side of grace, and keep an open door and an open mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's a lot to think about and that's gonna take some intention and, and some help and guidance and power and strength from the spirit.
Caesar Kalinowski:It really will.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've been hiding out for too long, or chucking rocks from the corner at each.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, as always, I, I wanna leave you with the big three takeaways from this.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll kind of summarize this, so if nothing else, you don't miss these big points.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll send you, by the way, a printable PDF of this week's big three as a free download if you want it, I'll ki this is all written out, nice and readable, and you can share it with others and maybe even have some discussions.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you want to get that big three, go to everyday Disciple dot com slash big three.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now here are the big three for this week, and guess what?
Caesar Kalinowski:You're gonna know what they are.
Caesar Kalinowski:So first one, again, is be an advocate for the underdog.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hanging out with or defending the broken, messy people in this world, or those that have very different opinions than us can be hard to do or hard to want to do.
Caesar Kalinowski:When you stick up for those on the wrong side of the tracks or the wrong side of an issue, you're actually showing love to Jesus.
Caesar Kalinowski:Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Caesar Kalinowski:Jesus did not say to live this way.
Caesar Kalinowski:Only when we're in agreement with that person.
Caesar Kalinowski:Number two, air on the side of grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:When we've truly grasped the good news and grace that the Gospel offers us, it'll move our hearts to be gracious with others, gracious with those that are hard to be with, or those that we flat out disagree with.
Caesar Kalinowski:How long did you live life, your life in disagreement with or in a divided way from God certain that you were right and that the world or God owed you something?
Caesar Kalinowski:Jesus came and he took that un rightness of yours upon himself and exchanged his perfectly righteous life for ours on the cross.
Caesar Kalinowski:He's done that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Showing grace to others extends the glory of God into lives that are filled with darkness and division.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, now number three, keep an open door and open mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're living our lives, like I said, more isolated than ever because of technology, uh, but also because of fear.
Caesar Kalinowski:Remember, this, God is great, so we don't have to be in control.
Caesar Kalinowski:God is glorious.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we don't have to fear others and their opinions that are different than ours.
Caesar Kalinowski:So here's what I wanna suggest.
Caesar Kalinowski:Pick a night each week and have someone who's different than you over for a meal or someone that you're just getting to know, or maybe someone that you're pretty sure has a pretty different worldview than you open up your schedule, your home, your hearts to be with people.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's.
Caesar Kalinowski:by closing the cultural divide that may exist between the guy living right next door to us.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, I'll bet that's gonna give you plenty to think about, chew on, and hopefully get started on now.
Caesar Kalinowski:And remember if, if you're interested in learning to be fluent in the Gospel, And, and have a full framework for discipleship and mission and living this way.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'd love you to be part of the coaching that we're offering.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's still a few spots left.
Caesar Kalinowski:Check it out.
Caesar Kalinowski:At least go to everyday Disciple dot com slash coaching.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'd love to be able to have these kind of discussions and help you learn how to make disciples in light of this way of thinking, how the Gospel speaks into everyday life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, that's about it for today.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, I wanna invite you to join me next week.
Caesar Kalinowski:We'll be, we'll be talking about sharing your faith after you've blown it with someone.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, how do you go back after way over doing it, trying to share your faith and you've just mucked it up?
Caesar Kalinowski:How do you share your faith after blowing with someone?
Caesar Kalinowski:I think that's gonna be kind of fun, Uh, and a pretty important conversation.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm looking forward to it.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll see you then.
Announcer:Thanks for joining us today.
Announcer:For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit everyday Disciple dot com and remember, you really can live with a spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.