What light do you shine on the world in order to see?

I recently purchased some new light bulbs for our house. Some of the bulbs I purchased were just standard LED light bulbs for around the house. However, I also purchased two sets of bulbs that were different.

The Back Porch – For the back porch, I got two light-sensing, motion-sensing LED bulbs. I remember when the light fixture had to have these features. Now, they can build it right into the bulb. We have a dog and were always leaving the light on by accident. Now, the bulb goes on when we take the dog out and goes off when we’re done and this only happens at night.

The Front Fixtures – For the front fixtures of the house, I bought two bulbs that simulate fire. It makes it look like we have two oil-burning lamps out front. I have to say, these lights look cool. I have had several neighbors comment on how much they like them. However, they don’t actually do much to light things. The other day, I grilled in front of my house and I had to use my phone’s flashlight to see the meat.

The Lamp of Your Life
We use lamps to see the things around us. Depending on the lamp, it may show us different things or may not show us much at all like the lamps in front of my house. I’ve also used yellow lights to not attract mosquitos, but everything looks weird when they are on. All the colors are off.

We have a “lamp” for our lives, too. It’s what we use to see the world around us and understand it. If the light is good, we can see things clearly. If the light isn’t good, we may not see well, may miss some of the things around us, or things may look different to us.

Proverbs 21:4 warns about the lamp of the wicked. Their lamp is haughty eyes and a proud heart. That lamp colors everything they see and causes them to not see a lot of things as well. It not only leads them to sin, but it is sin, itself.

The pride of the wicked is that they look only to themselves to see the world, understand it, and act. They have, in effect, made themselves their own god. If you remember the temptation in the garden, that was exactly what satan tempted Adam and Eve with, they could become like God.

The Lamp of God
The lamp God wants us to use is different.