John Henry Holmes—a 19th-century electrical engineer and inventor from Newcastle, England—is credited with inventing the light switch in 1884. Never before could an individual so quickly turn something on or off. Or is that true?
The apostle Peter utilized a type of switch in Galatians 2. When he visited the Gentile city of Antioch, “he would eat with the Gentiles” (Gal. 2:11-12), for his fellow Jews were not around. But when Jews came to visit him from Jerusalem, “he withdrew and separated himself [from the Gentiles], fearing” the Jews (2:12). You see, Peter flipped a switch.
Do you have that kind of a switch? Do you “flip a switch,” depending on “who you are around”? Are you friends with certain people, until some other friends come around? What about your speech or your conduct? Does it vary (on/off) depending on who is around? Verse 13 calls that “playing the hypocrite,” which is condemned repeatedly by our God (Jas. 3:17; 1 Pet. 2:1). Friends, Jesus said to turn your light “on” for Him and leave it “on” (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:15).