Salt and light of the world

Tzegemariam

Hello everyone,


How can i an middle aged teenager be a light or salt in the world, in these days?
what are some examples of being a light or salt in the world and how could i accomplish doing this? What are the differences between words and idle words? I have been told that i have been more quiet lately because i have nothing to say.

This is something that i would really want to know

May God help you all and bless you

Sevant of Jesus Christ

Ahaha... Well from what I was told (correct me if I am wrong). Idle words are useless words that have no purpose, and no benefits (spiritual or physical) -such as talking about: socks, gossiping to each other of the "abnormal kid",  hair, fingure nails, boys, girls, video games, movies, celebrities, or random events/places/or things etc. In essence idle talk is a talk that is useless.     

Gracia

being light and salt means that you are a bright and beneficial presence in the world and to the world, for the sake of Christ.

pursuit things that are Godly, not things that are wordly, vain, or immoral. it's tough as a teenager, but with God's help in Christ, you can be stronger than the world around you.

pray to the Lord to help you avoid sin, to do His will, to honor Him, and to be of help to others as a Christian. pursuit holiness and Godliness within your Coptic Church. go to worship, pray, read the Scriptures, draw close to the Lord, and seek counsel and advise from your priest.

idle words are words which (for example) gossip, hurt, joke rudely, express little of merit, or complain. Godly words are words which bless, offer help, edify others in the right things, praise God, and direct others towards Christ.

if you don't know what to say, ask the Lord to help you speak the right things. the Christian walk is a journey. none of us becomes perfect over night. it's about walking with God everyday, letting Him help you, use you, correct you, and conform you to be more like His Son. it takes time, but there's never a better time to start than today.

this isn't exactly Coptic advise, more like general Christian advise. remember that Christ loves you, lives, and can help you to be a better man, for His sake.

Tzegemariam

Thanks for your replies,
Any more advice, i need to learn more

Thanks again
a sinner 

Unknown

A daughter went to her mom complaining about school and life. The mother was boiling water and had three things; a carrot, an egg and a coffee bean. The mother put in the egg in the water, boiled and became hard from the inside. She than placed the carrot and it became soft once it got boiled. After, she placed the coffee bean and it changed the color of the water. The mother than asked her daughter which one are you.

The boiling water represent the surroundings/people that we go through everyday.

The egg are those who are strong from outside and soft from inside but once they are placed in the boiling water, they became stubborn, hard headed and sometimes the egg would crack, likewise some people explode from closing off themselves and not listening to advices from others.

The carrot are those who are strong but once placed around diverse people, they become soft and lost because of all the different theories and start to fade away because they had no character

The coffee bean are those who are strong and influense others as turning the water color. They know what they are and when placed around diverse people, they know whats right and wrong and they turning the people around them to the right path.

Hope this story helps, my sunday school teacher said it to me and it sets an example of what we should be today: strong, bold, known what we should do and donot. However as Gracia said, you can only recieve this help and power from above

Pray for me

coptic youth

amazing story!

tamoura76

Really good story, makes us think, I hope we'll all be coffee beans or TEA leaves for copts, lololol ;D ;)

Ioannes

Being a light to this world is like a beacon of hope to those in the outer darkness, some may choose to come towards it, other may like it in the dark. Being the "salt of the earth" is a very enigmatic thing to say. It kind of a double entendre. Salt acts as a preservative, so in that way we must preserve our church as well as ourselves, as is mentioned above with all the things you should be careful with. Salt is also an irritant. If salt gets into a wound it burns. So while we struggle the Orthodox Spiritual life, it will irritate people, as history has shown. It not only irritates people but our adversary, and this makes life much more difficult on the physical and spiritual realm.