The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

I thought I would share “Lighting Up the World” by Tyler Perry, instead of trying to rewrite the subject and doing it poorly. Enjoy!

“I’VE BEEN DOING a lot of building over the past few years. I’ve learned that, according to the commercial codes across the country, before you can construct a building, plans must first be reviewed by a board, and they have to pass a “life safety review.”

In order to pass that review, the building must meet certain requirements: It must have fire exits, sprinklers, and exit signs, as well as lights with emergency backup batteries. That means that if all the power in the building goes out, small lights that are independent of the major source of power will automatically turn on and lead the way out of darkness.”

I think about those lights a lot as I look at the state of our country and the state of the world. At any given time, you can turn on the news and without a doubt you’ll be assaulted with darkness, negative images, death, destruction, terrorism, murder, hate, and racism. You don’t have to go looking for it. These images and this information are always there, always available, as if they were meant to lead our way.

Of course, this barrage is anything but enlightening, yet it’s ever-present—on our smartphones, on our laptops. When you’re carrying around this kind of information on your person, it’s hard not to let it seep into your heart.

If you keep taking in this negative information, it can consume you. You may become cynical, jaded, and emotionally removed from the struggles of all our brothers and sisters around the world. If you let it live in your mind and heart, you may start to think that evil is winning. It can make you feel hopeless.

“While I was learning about all these horrors, I would start wondering, “Where are all the people who believe in God? Where is the good and right and just? Where are the compassionate souls who care for one another? Where are the people with the little light that my mother sang about in church? Where is the balance?”

Then I found an answer. I decided to be a balance keeper. What do I mean by that?

When I hear about darkness, I want to do something good and kind. I couldn’t stop Hurricane Katrina, but I could rebuild homes for twenty families. I couldn’t stop the earthquake in Haiti, but I could donate money to help the relief effort. I couldn’t save the little girls who were mauled by wild animals on their way to get fresh water in Africa, but I could help fund efforts to dig wells and bring fresh water to thousands of villagers around the world.

You see what I’m saying here? You may not have the power to stop a bomb from falling in Syria, but you can give something to a homeless shelter, if not with your money, with your time. You may not be able to stop terrorism, but you can single-handedly give bread to a hungry child.

“Well,” you may say, “that’s such a small gesture in the scheme of things.”

Let me assure you, if all the big lights go out and it’s pitch-black, and you are the only one with a tiny light, I promise we would see your little light shining, and your light could lead the way.

I challenge all of us to be balance keepers. Light up the darkness. Let your light shine.

Anger and fear won’t change the world for the better. What light can you shine to make a difference?

Give yourself a break. Turn off the news for at least a few hours every day.”

Excerpt From: Tyler Perry. “Higher Is Waiting.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/higher-is-waiting/id1214685450