Kingdom Stewardship Series

Sermon 2 on Matthew 5:13-16:  

"Salt and Light: Stewarding Our Influence"

Scripture Readings: 

- Sermon Text: Matthew 5:13-16 (Salt and Light)

- Liturgist’s Reading: Isaiah 58:6-10 (True Fasting and Justice)

Overview: 

Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, influencing society positively. Isaiah speaks of true worship manifested through acts of justice and kindness. This sermon explores how we can steward our influence by living out our faith authentically, promoting justice, and illuminating God's love in dark places. We are challenged to consider how our actions impact others and how we can intentionally make a difference in our communities.

Salt and Light: Stewarding Our Influence

Sermon  by Pastor Jon Burnham delivered on October 19, 2025

St. John's Presbyterian Church, Houston, Texas

The Mirror in Small Hands

Last Tuesday at the hardware store on Bellaire, I watched a five-year-old boy walking beside his grandfather. Same slight limp. Same head tilt when considering paint samples. Same little grunt of approval.

The grandfather hadn't taught him any of this. The boy just absorbed it. Like breathing.

That's influence. And friend, you have it.

Whether you feel influential or invisible, someone is watching how you move through this world. Learning from you. Being shaped by you.

We think stewardship is about money and committees. But today we're talking about something else: the stewardship of your influence. You can't deposit it in the offering plate, but how you use it might be the most important thing you do this week.

Kitchen Items That Changed the World

Jesus had this way of making ordinary things extraordinary. Listen to Matthew 5:13-16:

• "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."

Salt and light. Not mighty cedars or roaring lions. Just two things every household had. Two things nobody thought about. Until they were missing.

Salt Works by Disappearing

In Jesus' time, salt was so valuable that Roman soldiers were paid in it. That's where "salary" comes from. Salt preserved meat, healed wounds, sealed covenants.

But here's what I love: salt works by disappearing.

You don't eat a great meal and praise the salt. You praise the food. Salt enhances everything without calling attention to itself.

I know a woman at one of Houston's medical centers. She processes insurance claims. Eight hours of paperwork and frustrated callers. She told me, "Pastor, for most people calling me, this might be their worst day. They're sick, scared, confused. So every call is a chance to be salt."

She doesn't preach. She just brings patience when everyone else brings frustration. She remembers names. She follows up.

One caller broke down crying: "You're the first person who's treated me like a human being."

That's salt. Making everything better without anyone knowing why.

But Jesus warns: salt can lose its flavor. The salt in His day wasn't pure. When stored wrong, the sodium chloride would leach out, leaving just dirt you'd throw on paths.

How do Christians lose saltiness? Compromise by compromise. You laugh at cruel jokes. Stay quiet about dishonesty. Slowly become exactly like everything around you. Until you're just dirt on the path. Walked over. Making no difference.

Light Doesn't Argue

Jesus doesn't say "Try to be light." He says, "You ARE the light of the world."

If you're following Jesus, you're glowing. The question is whether you're hiding it.

Light doesn't argue with darkness. You flip the switch, and darkness flees.

A guy I know manages a team downtown. Big pressure, big egos. Every Friday, he asks each person: "What was good this week?" Not about work. About life.

At first, people were suspicious. But he kept asking. People started opening up, looking forward to Fridays.

Last month an employee said, "I was going to quit. But this place feels different now. Brighter."

She doesn't know he's a Christian. Doesn't know he prays for his team. She just knows something's better.

But Jesus warns: People hide their light under bowls. Why? Fear. Fear of being labeled, mocked, seen as the weird religious person. So we keep faith under wraps. Church self, work self, neighborhood self, never meeting.

We become undercover Christians. And the world stays dark.

The Third Way

In Houston, in 2025, we're caught between two bad options.

Option one: Silent Christian. Faith completely private. So respectful you never share.

Option two: Obnoxious Christian. Every conversation becomes a sermon. Fighting culture wars at dinner parties.

Jesus offers option three: Be salt and light.

Not silent, not loud. Just working.

Not aggressive, not invisible. Just shining.

A local couple around here owns an AC company. They close Sundays. In Houston. In summer. They've lost money, lost customers. One Sunday hit 108 degrees, seven emergency calls turned down.

But employees noticed bosses who cared more about rest than money. So employees cared more about the company. Customers noticed people of principle. Trust grew. Loyalty deepened.

Conversations happened naturally: "Why closed Sundays?" "We believe God designed us to need rest..." Doors opened that arguments never could.

That's stewarding influence. Not forcing. Not hiding. Living consistently and letting people notice.

Isaiah's Challenge

The prophet Isaiah adds something crucial. In chapter 58, God says:

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice... to share your food with the hungry... Then your light will break forth like the dawn."

Real influence isn't religious performance. It's justice. Mercy. Action.

Want to be salt? Stand up for someone who can't stand up for themselves.

Want to be light? Share with someone who has nothing.

This is Christianity with its sleeves rolled up.

Small Moments Matter

Influence rarely happens in dramatic moments. It happens in small ones.

The block party where someone makes a racist comment. Don't preach. Just change the subject and tell a kind story about the immigrant family down the street. That's salt.

Coworkers gossiping about someone's divorce. Don't quote Scripture. Just say, "Sounds like they need support. Should we send a card?" That's light.

Your teenager comes home convinced they're not enough. Don't give a speech. Just remind them whose they are. That's both.

Every day, you're either adding flavor or letting things go bland. Pushing back darkness or letting it creep in.

The Vending Machine Moment

A few months ago, a neighbor was at jury duty downtown. During a break, she saw an elderly man struggling with a vending machine. His dollar kept getting rejected.

She walked over. "These machines are terrible. Let me try mine."

It worked. She bought his snack. He tried to pay her back. She waved him off.

"Why would you do that?"

She could have said, "Because I'm a Christian." Instead: "Someone did it for me once. They told me to pass it on."

They talked. He'd been looking for a church since his wife died. Felt lost. Felt forgotten.

She mentioned her church. Not pushy. Just mentioned.

He showed up the next Sunday. And the next. Last month, he joined.

"I wasn't drawn by theology or music," he said. "I was drawn because someone bought me chips when my dollar wouldn't work."

Salt and light, friends.

Your Influence Inventory

This week, take an influence inventory:

Where has God placed you? Your workplace, neighborhood, gym, coffee shop. These aren't random. They're your assigned territories for influence.

Who's watching you? Your kids, yes. But also coworkers, neighbors, the barista, the person behind you in traffic. What are they learning?

Where are you wasting influence? Hiding light? Losing saltiness? Choosing comfort over courage?

What would it look like to be intentionally salty this week? Maybe refusing workplace cynicism. Maybe appreciating someone everyone ignores. Maybe having that hard conversation with love instead of anger.

The Promise and Warning

Jesus makes both.

The warning: Lose your saltiness, become useless. Hide your light, contribute to darkness. Your influence matters. When you withhold it, people suffer.

The promise: When you shine, people see your good works and glorify God. Not you. God.

Your influence is a signpost, not a destination. When you steward it well, people don't think, "What a good person." They think, "What a good God they must serve."

The Challenge

This week, be annoyingly salty. Like salt in a wound that needs healing. Like salt that won't let things spoil.

Be uncomfortably bright. Like morning light ending a nightmare. Like a flashlight revealing the path.

Stop asking if you have influence. You do.

Stop wondering if it matters. It does.

Will you steward it for the Kingdom, or waste it on the world?

You are salt. You are light. Not because you're special. But because you belong to Jesus, and He has work for you to do.

Right here in Houston. Right now.

We are blessed to bless. We receive to give.

And the world is counting on us to remember that.

Let Us Pray

Join for me for a few moments of prayer.

Radiant God, You have called us out of darkness into Your marvelous light. In this season of lengthening shadows, we confess how often we hide under bowls of fear.

Forgive us for losing our saltiness in cultural compromise. For choosing invisibility over influence.

Make us salt that preserves good, heals wounds, adds flavor to a tasteless world.

Make us light that reveals Your love, guides the lost, pushes back darkness.

Give us courage to influence Houston with grace and truth. Not for our glory, but so others might see You.

Through Jesus, the Light of the World, who showed us what perfect influence looks like. Amen.