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We live in a world where evil can sometimes seem overwhelming. And when something especially horrific happens, as it does with increasing regularity, it’s easy to become angry, fearful, discouraged, or simply join everyone else in complaining about how bad things have become.

But God calls His people to something very different.

We’re not to mingle with the darkness until we’re indistinguishable from it. Neither are we to retreat into our Christian circles and merely complain about what’s happening outside. We’re called to be salt and light—to live differently, speak the truth in love, and hold out the hope of Christ to a broken world.

That means there will be times when we must call evil what it is, even when doing so is unpopular. But how we do it matters, too. We aren’t to be self-righteous, mean-spirited, or argumentative. Our goal isn’t to win an argument or gain the approval of people. Like Paul, we should “make it our aim … to be well pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5.9).

So, when darkness seems to be growing, are we merely whining about it—or are we shining? And what does being salt and light actually look like in times like these?