Our lives do not happen in a vacuum. It easy for us to decieve ourselves and imagine that our actions only impact us. In doing so, we insulate ourselves from the true consequences of what we do. Many of us would feel terrible if we knew that are actions were hurting someone one else. It is much easier to think only in terms of ourself. Unfortunately such thinking is a misconception. When we sin, it impacts all those we come in contact with. Even when no one knows about it, our strained relationship with God causes us to not be as uplifting or righteous for those around us.

The good news for us is that the inverse of that is true as well. When we do have righteous behavior, we impact others as well. They are able to see our conduct and be encouraged by it. It is an example for them to learn by. By seeing the word of God manifested in us, others can see how they need to act in similar circumstances. When people notice that we have a great relationship with God, it is an encouragement for them to have the same time of relationship. When our light shows through our good works, we glorify God.

That is, of course, the crux of the matter. We need to make sure that the focus is on glorifying God and not ourselves. It is very easy to fall into the trap of doing God things so that people will think well of us, or because we appreciate the accolades from fellow Christians. Instead, we need to reflect such praise to the one who deserves it: our Father in Heaven. In doing so, we illumine to the rest of the world what they need. They do not need us. They need Him.