"This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine.

Gonna let it shine
all over (name of your city)
Let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine..."

So on and so forth...

When I was a child, that meant to me (and does into adulthood), that my life needed to be lived in a way that people knew that I was also a child of God.

Contrary to how the family patriarch (an uncle) believed and acted; a man of many, long, exhausting prayers, but to also behave in all areas of my life as a child of God.

When I grew up, I heard a saying from a family member that my uncle was "so Heavenly minded that he was no earthly good." That also stuck with my throughout my adult years.

Then my mother related to me that she had a visitor every week that would come share from the Bible with her. These were very satisfying moments for her. However, this gentleman spent all his time "visiting the shut-ins" but had no visible means of support for himself, his wife and three kids.

When my mom asked him how it was that he had a family but didn't work, his words to her were "If God watches and feeds over the sparrow, I know that he'll provide for me, too." Apparently, this man depended on the good will of those he visited to give him donations of food, clothing, etc.

It was time for my mother to return the favor. She was never one to keep her opinions to herself. LOL She promptly reminded him that even the sparrows get off of their sleeping areas and "go to work" in the mornings and work until dark finding the food that God has for them. They don't sit in tree branches waiting for that food to fall from Heaven or praying that someone dropped a crumb of something by their tree.

In my mother's opinion, this man was mooching off of the people that he visited, often putting poor people in a bind when they gave him donations of any kind. She had often felt pressured unto giving him some of whatever she had and it put a dent in her budget for the month. She lived on Social Security and we all know, that's sometimes not enough to get one through the month.

As harsh as my mother could be with her opinions and as much as I don't want to be like her, I believe she made a good point. Also, the person that told me my uncle wasn't any earthly good, in my opinion, was right on.

It's not enough to pray lengthy prayers for the entire world or for any given group of people. We need to get off our duffs and DO something about those situations that we feel need to be done something about.

My uncle could have broken his "piggy bank" and blessed some of the people he asked God to bless. My uncle could have been the answer to many of his prayers.

The man that visited with my mother could have done handy work for these people or he could have held some kind of job, even part time, to help feed his family and himself and not been a burden to the elderly shut-ins he visited.

To me, IMO, would have been letting their light shine. That is talking the talk and most importantly, walking the walk.