BEAUTIFUL #8: A Beautiful Pain
Introduction - Great Marketing Blunders (PPT-Series)
Let’s begin by talking about some of the greatest marketing blunders:
 How many of you have seen one of the Tom Cruise (PPT) Mission
Impossible Movies, I, II or III? Well, when Paramount Pictures
launched their campaign to promote Mission Impossible III, they put
small red musical devices inside 4,500 L.A. Times newspaper boxes.
When people opened the device, it played the “Mission Impossible”
theme song. Which might have been fun, except that when people
saw the little boxes, they thought they were bombs! In once instance,
the Santa Clarita bomb squad was called in and they blew up the
newspaper box to neutralize the so-called “bomb!”
 How about (PPT) Kentucky Fried Chicken? When the fast food
giant opened their first store in China in 1987, they accidentally
translated KFC’s famous slogan “Finger-Lickin’ Good” as "We’ll Eat
Your Fingers Off."
 One more, I love this one… an American t-shirt manufacturer trying
to cash in on the (PPT) Pope’s visit to a Latin American country,
printed t-shirts that were supposed to say, “I Saw the Pope” but were
incorrectly translated in Spanish to read, “I Saw the Potato.”
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Scripture: Matthew 5:10-11
What we’ve been talking about over the last 8 weekends in our series,
(PPT) “Beautiful,” might be what marketers call “value-added”
advertising. Jesus has been pronouncing a series of blessings that come
from being one of his followers: “You be this and you will be blessed.”
But then he finishes his most famous series of sayings with what I think is
really an interesting or odd choice of words. Check out how he closes the
sale: (PPT) “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness… Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute
you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
(Matthew 5:10-11).
Now marketing-wise, how does that strike you? “Blessed are those
who are persecuted…” Sounds like another marketing blunder to me!
Not exactly something that makes most of us say “Sounds GREAT!
Where do I sign up?”
So, why did he say that? Why cap off his famous “blessed are”
statements like THAT?
When Jesus talks about the possibility of persecution, he’s making
sure everybody listening knows that being a true follower of his was going
to make them truly different. Say that word after me: DIFFERENT!
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Think about it: persecution doesn’t come from being like everybody else,
does it? Jesus is saying straight-up, “What I have to offer, this beautiful
life I’ve been talking about; don’t associate ‘beautiful’ with ‘comfortable.’
If you want to be comfortable, I’m the wrong person to line up behind.
It’s going to make you different and different isn’t usually comfortable;
it’s a different that is a better way to live, but it’s not comfortable.”
Scripture: “Salt” & “Light”
In fact, look at the two words pictures Jesus uses immediately after
the Beatitudes to describe His followers: (PPT)
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how
can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except
to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the
world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people
light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its
stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way,
let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)
(PPT) “You are the salt of the earth.” (Matthew 5:13)
“You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)
Now, for us, SALT and LIGHT might not seem like that big of a
deal. And that’s because salt and light are pretty common to us. You ask
for salt at a McDonald’s and what do they give you? A handful of it! You
want more…they give you a second handful …as much as you want!
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And light isn’t hard to come by either; we have it anytime we want it with
the flip of a switch. But salt and light weren’t like that in Jesus’ day.
 Salt was valuable and hard to come by back then. Ever hear someone
say, “He’s not worth his salt?” In ancient Rome, salt was used as a
form of currency. Salt was also one of only two ways to preserve
food back then; especially meat - you could either smoke it or pack it
in salt and preserve it. So for Jesus to say, “Hey, followers of mine
are like SALT” that was a big deal. Salt was a precious commodity.
 Same thing is true about light. I could call for more house lights right
now and we could easily flood the room with more light. But think
about how you feel when the power goes out in the evening and you
find yourself in the dark. In Jesus’ day, when the sun went down,
darkness was the rule, and light was the exception.
That was then, but salt and light still make a big difference now…
 Salt still makes a big difference. Give somebody some popcorn with
absolutely no salt on it, and what will they say? “Needs salt.” They
notice the salt is missing right away.
 And if we were in a room ten times this size, and it was totally dark
in here, one single little Christmas-tree light would be easy to spot
once it was lit up, right?
Salt and light still make a noticeable difference!
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(PPT-Matt 5:3-9) Jesus was saying: “All these qualities I’ve been
telling you about to describe my followers - the poor in spirit, those who
mourn their sin, the meek (which we said was about power under
control), those who hunger for a right relationship with God, the
merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers - people like that will
sometimes experience persecution because people like that are not the
norm. Nobody gets persecuted for being like everybody else. There’s a
noticeable difference!”
Got it? But let’s be clear…it’s not supposed to be an obnoxious
difference! Because there are…
 Obnoxious in-your-face Christians. Like one guy at a movie
theater who when asked, “Is this seat saved?” said, “No, but the real
question is are you saved?” That’s not noticeably different. That’s
obnoxious. That’s called in-your-face, holier-than-thou Christianity.
That’s not what Jesus was talking about! And he also wasn’t talking
about…
 Cosmetic Christians. Cosmetic Christians may go to church or have
a fish on their car or something, but beyond that they’re just like
everybody else.
Those aren’t the kind of differences Jesus was talking about.
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When Jesus says, “My followers are salt and light,” he means we are
different, but different in a beneficial difference-making way! He’s
saying to us…
 (PPT-Matt 5:13) “Live the kind of lives that make others lives better,
that helps keep good things from going bad, and spices things up.
Make people thirst for the truth about me and show people that
following me enhances their lives.”
 (PPT-Matt 5:14) And Jesus is saying: "Live the kind of life that will
illuminate and help people find their way. A life that will shine my
compassion into dark places of despair, that will bring truth to light.
Live lives that will attract people to me, because I am ultimately the
light of life."
And Jesus refused to be a spin-doctor; he told people straight up that
even though the differences are beneficial differences – not everyone is
going to be happy to have salt and light around. Again, think about salt
and light.
 We all know what it’s like to be sound asleep in the middle of the
night and have somebody turn on the lights. What do we do? We
yell, “Aaaahhh, turn that light out!” A lot of times, people are used to
the dark; they don’t want certain things out in the light and so they
tend to prefer the dark and hate the light.
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 (PPT-Matt 5:13) At times salt makes people uncomfortable too. Salt
used to be used to clean out a wound. Salt does help bring healing,
but it also really stings. I remember once having the opportunity to
swim in the Dead Sea during a trip to Israel. The water in the Dead
Sea is 34% salt…10 times saltier than the ocean. And let me just tell
you, if you have even a small cut anywhere on your body - you’ll feel
it! Salt can sting!
(PPT-Matt 5:10-11) No bait and switch here – Jesus is telling us
there will be times when people will react negatively to those who are salt
and light, because salt and light can have that kind of affect on people.
 Sometimes it happens because a Christ-follower won’t participate in
certain things, and no matter how low-key you try to be about it,
trouble can come your way.
 Sometimes it happens because you speak up against something that is
wrong or refuse to do something you’re asked to do that isn’t right;
and no matter what how respectful and non-judgmental you try to be
about it, sometimes it’s going to cost you.
But don’t forget this - Jesus didn’t say, “You just have to endure it,
put up with it.” No, instead he said, “It’s not fun, it’s not pleasant, but it is
blessed when that happens to you.” He says you’re in good company:
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(PPT) “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before
you. (Matthew 5:12).
Challenge: Am I Different?
So let’s be painstakingly clear. Jesus isn’t saying something’s wrong
with my life if I’m not being persecuted or mistreated for my faith. But I
think His words about persecution should cause us to ask ourselves a BIGTIME question. And here it is: (PPT) “Is there really anything
different about me?” These words about persecution and mistreatment
and salt and light should cause us to ask: “If no one is NOTICING that
I’m different, why NOT?” What if nobody sees anything about me that is
different from anybody else?
Now more than ever, friends, we’ve got to pay attention to this! True
Christ-followers are salt and light, they are different from those who aren’t
followers of Jesus. Now maybe I’m never mistreated for my faith because
our society is much more tolerant of different faiths unlike Jesus’ day. But
maybe it’s not that our society is different from his, maybe it’s that we
aren’t that different from our society? Let me be clear about what I
believe Jesus is challenging us with today. He is saying to call yourself a
Christ-follower means you will be different in a beneficial, differencemaking way…and he is asking each of us to look at our lives and make
one of two decisions today.
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The first decision is for anyone who has never really fully committed
their life to Jesus to do so and say, “I understand the commitment that
Jesus is asking for and for the first time I am committing to follow him
and be salt and light.” OR, if you are already a Christ-follower, the second
decision is to say: “I haven’t really been the salt and light he intended me
to be, and starting today I am re-committing myself to that!” Think about
that, because in a moment every one of us will have an opportunity to
respond to Jesus by making a commitment or a recommitment.
Now, with that in mind, let me give you three quick words that are
true of “salt and light” people. People who are different in a differencemaking way in their families, their neighborhoods, their workplaces!
First Word: “Give”
The first word is (PPT) GIVE. The most generous statistics say the
average American gives away about 3.1% of their income to charitable
causes.i Of the people who volunteer, the average person gives 3.5 hours
per week for community service of some kind. But 44% (nearly half) of all
Americans don’t volunteer.ii So, if I want to be salt and light, there’s got
to be something different about how I give my money and my time.
 Does anybody ever ask: “Why do you spend so much time serving in
your neighborhood?”
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 Or “Why do you put so much of your creative energy into that
church?”
 Or have you ever had your financial planner or accountant ask: “Why
are you giving away so much money?”
You see, love for others expressed through generosity of time and money
is intended to be a mark of Christ-followers. Is our generosity
quantitatively and qualitatively different from non-Christ followers? Is
there anything truly different about the way you and I give? The first word
true of “salt and light” people is “give.”
Second Word: “Stand”
And the second word is (PPT) STAND. And by stand, I mean stand
for what’s right and stand against what’s wrong. I’m not talking about
being holier-than-thou; we’ve already talked about obnoxious differences.
I’m talking about taking a stand because you know something is right or
you know something is wrong. Historically, Christianity has made it’s
biggest difference and drawn the most “fire” because Christians took a
stand and didn’t participate in things that other people did or did not do.
Even though I’m not Catholic, I am increasingly impressed with
(PPT) Pope Francis and his willingness to take a stand in words and in
action on issues of injustice, evangelism and poverty! He’s the pope who
refused to live in the papal apartment.
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He refused to have some of the elaborate trappings that have long gone
with that position. He challenges the status quo with words like these:
(PPT) “These days there is a lot of poverty in the world, and that's a
scandal when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone.
We all have to think about how we can become a little poorer.” It seems
wherever he goes, he gravitates toward the least and the lost. He says it.
Lives it. He takes a stand!
(PPT-STAND) So, where do you and I draw the line? Is there
anything different about our character, our morals, how we live? What do
we stand for? Could anything in our lives be viewed as “radical” in
today’s society? Our second word is STAND.
Third Word: “Love”
And finally, our third word: (PPT) LOVE. This is about how we love
each other. You see, our love for one another is supposed to stick out as
something unusual, something different in this world. Something that
makes people take notice. Check this out - Jesus said: (PPT) “By this
everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another.” (John 13:35) The love we have for one another is supposed to
stick out in a “salt and light” kind of way. It’s a love of a different kind!
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About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to witness the kind
of love I think Jesus had in mind when he told us to “love one another.”
Last year around Easter, my mom had surgery on her neck and spine. I
rushed home to Ohio after our Easter service to help her through that first
week of recovery. While I know she appreciated having me there, it
meant the world to me to realize that if I hadn’t been able to come, she
still would have been surrounded by Christ-followers who would love and
care for her. The people from her church were amazing. Every day there
was an endless parade of people bringing meals for lunch and dinner.
People stopped by before and after the surgery to pray for her. Her Small
Group leader came to the hospital the day of the surgery. My mom was
feeling so loved that if I were her I might think about breaking my leg on
purpose just to receive that kind of attention again!
(PPT-LOVE) It was a beautiful thing to watch a group of Christfollowers live out “loving one another” in such a tangible way. There is
supposed to be something different about the way we relate to one
another. In a world where most people are taught to look out for “me and
mine,” do you realize how “loving one another” can stick out as
something truly different and radical? Our love is supposed to shine like a
light in the darkness, inviting others in, illuminating Jesus.
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(PPT) GIVE. The generosity of Christians is intended to be
quantitatively and qualitatively different from non-Christ-followers. Is
there anything different about how you and I give?
(PPT) STAND. For what will we take a stand? Is there anything
different about our character, our morals? Could anything in our lives be
viewed as “radical” in today’s society?
And (PPT) LOVE. Are there people in this community who would
point to you or I and say, “That person has my back. They are looking out
for me. That person knows how to love.” Who would say that about us?
Now it’s time to choose, and our choices are really two:
1. If you’re not a Christ-follower yet, you can become one now. You
can make that choice today, right now at your seat. You can make
that choice privately between you and God and then you will make
that choice publically…perhaps even next week at the beach…by
being baptized. This can be a moment when you say to Jesus
privately, “I want to follow you, Jesus, throughout this life and on
into the next. I will give as you ask me to give. I will take a stand
when you ask me to take a stand. And I will love those you’ve given
me to love. Starting today, I’m a follower of Jesus.”
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2. For others, maybe you’re like me and you made a decision some time
ago, both privately and publicly by being baptized. But today, you’d
have to admit that over time your salt has lost some flavor and you’re
light has been less than bright. Today you and I can recommit to
being salt and light - no more Christian in name and belief only stuff,
but real give-it-all-you-got, no holds barred, salt and light Christfollowing. After all, when Jesus talked about salt and light, he said as
a Christ-follower, “You are salt and you are light.” There was no
real question – that’s what it meant to follow him.
The “blessed” life is the life that is given fully to Jesus. It is a
different life. But it is a beautiful life. It is a life available to anyone who
wants it. Take hold of it today.
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ii
https://www.justgive.org/donations/how-much-to-give.jsp
http://www.networkforgood.org/volunteer/volunteertradition.aspx
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