Pass The Salt

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it (the Earth) be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." Matthew 5:13

Salt is almost impossible to see. Unless, of course, it is piled into a bowl with other grains of salt, e.g., a church building. Salt is usually felt and tasted before it is ever seen. It is for this reason that a Christian can be judged before they have had a chance to speak. No one sees my K-Love bumper sticker until after I've annoyed them with my driving. By then it's too late. So unless you've been inside a church or tried to get a table at a Ryan's Steakhouse on Sunday afternoon, our visual effects are minimum. But being easy to see is not important.

Jesus' question is hard-hitting. My job is to flavor. So If I'm not flavorful, how shall the Earth be seasoned? Good question. Notice he didn't say, "if the Earth loses it's salt". Jesus never warned his Church about losing their salvation, but He did warn them about losing their flavor. We already know Salvation came from God to us through grace. But Salvation has nothing to do with flavor. Our saltiness is all about influence. We get to go to heaven because of what Christ did. Heaven gets to come to Earth based on how salty we are. Most of us spend too much time trying to look salty, and that's great if you want to build bigger churches, but looking the part only works inside the steeple doors.

Why is it so easy for guys like Jon Stewart and Jay Leno to mock Christians? Jesus answered it. When a Christian ceases to be salty, they become punch lines for comedians, and punching bags for lawyers. How can Christian prayer be prohibited in school, but Muslim prayer allowed in Gitmo? Because the Church isn't as salty as it used to.

I'm embarrassed to say, but most of the meanest people I've known were Christians. And I'm equally embarrassed to admit, that I am probably one of those people for someone else. When I try so hard to look salty, I forget to act like it. There isn't a bumper sticker powerful enough to make up for my lack of flavor. I heard a preacher say once.

"A lot of people died and went to hell today, and most of you don't give a damn. And most of you are more mad that I said the word 'damn' than that people died and went to hell."

And that is the crux of how Christians can be "thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." We are so good at building walls to protect our image that the world comes to one of two conclusions: Christians are full of it, and thus irrelevant, so let's make fun of them, or Christians are really genuine, and still irrelevant, so let's still make fun of them so we can feel better.

Christians, who don't walk on water, are in great demand these days. Jesus never sinned, but he hung out with sinners. We are so afraid of hypocrisy that we never leave church. And when we do interact, we go out of our way to show those damnable sinners how good we really are. I may know the words to "Who Let the Dogs Out" but at least I'm not singing it.

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Mark 2:17

Jesus understood that being salty isn't about singing and beating the tambourine in the safety of the salt shaker. It's about being salty on the inside to the point of affecting the world around you. If people cheer when you leave the room, that's a clue. I know it's hard. Because I'm salt, I'm drawn to an open wound like a bee to a flower. But that's something God's working in me. It's not an excuse, it's the weather report. However, THIS is an excuse.

"If it weren't for Christians, I'd be a Christian".-- Mahatma Gandhi

Whatever Gandhi! Forget the salt. Pass the hashish.