Michael W. Smith has prepared a third Christmas album, and an article on this ends this way:

But despite his success in gospel, Smith worries he’s not doing enough to influence mainstream culture. When he was reaching the pop charts in the ’90s, he said, he loved it because he felt like he was “a light bulb in a dark room.”

“I think about it a lot. ‘What am I doing with my life, and am I doing the right thing?'” Smith says.

He pauses a moment and adds, “I do feel like the success I’ve had has given me a platform to try to let people know what’s really important in life. If you’re not feeding the poor, not looking out for the troubled kid on the block, not giving yourself away, you’ve totally missed it.”

I suspect Smith either held back a bit or made some statements which were not quoted, because giving yourself away must be a part of living out the Gospel or we will be missing it, as he says. That cup of water must be offered in the name of Christ, not the name of decency or America. It is God living among us that brings peace on earth, not simply pulling together.