I am a Jesus pusher!!! We must understand the proper use of “affect” and “effect.” “Affect” is a verb declaring the action of the state bringing about the result. “Effect” is a noun stating the result or consequence. Let us discuss the AFFECT of the state of being in light and salt (Matthew 5:13-16). We do not do anything to become salt or light; but once this state is accomplished there is an “affect” flowing from this state. Should the focus of my life become the accomplishment of this “affect?” Absolutely not! All activities ascribed to the state of salt and light are natural and automatic from the state. In the context of Jesus’ use of the terms, the action is in the mystical, spiritual world. Something spiritual occurs beyond the calculation of any human effort.
Woodrow Wilson told the story of being in a barbershop. “I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done to me I was aware I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D. L. Moody was in that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular effect that his visit had brought upon the barbershop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name, but they knew something had elevated their thoughts, and I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship.” (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2005.) It is Jesus. I am a Jesus pusher!!!