"Salt Is Salt"
Beach season is winding down. Here where I live, schools are getting back in session, and families have returned from their coastal vacations. Who doesn't enjoy a few days on the beach, savoring the taste of salt water on our lips?
Perhaps that sensation of vacations on the beach is one factor behind the surge in popularity of sea salt in food preparation. One web site noted that in 2010 alone more than 1,300 food products containing sea salt were introduced, and that several restaurants and fast food chains touted the addition of this "all natural" mineral to their lineup. There is clearly a mystique surrounding sea salt.
The American Heart Association, however, attempts to educate us on the topic of salt. Though 61% of Americans in 2011 said they believed sea salt to have less sodium than common table salt, the facts say otherwise: salt is salt. The difference is that sea salt goes through very little processing, leaving a few trace minerals. Table salt is mined and then processed, stripping most of those minerals. But sodium content is the same.
One thing most of us can agree on is that salt is desirable. Not too much, please, but when food is lacking salt we know it and we don't like it. Who would pay money for hot french fries - with no salt?!
Jesus used salt, a commonly desired mineral throughout the ages, as the basis for a vital lesson: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men" (Matthew 5:13).
We know when food has been salted, and when it hasn't. Have you ever been to a restaurant that had no salt shakers on the tables? A doctor's order that we all fear is to be told, "Eliminate salt from your diet!" A bland diet is a serious verdict to be handed.
What constitutes the "saltiness" of Jesus' followers? In general it is living the life that Jesus modeled when He lived on earth. It was different from the norm, distinctive. He loved, forgave, helped, showed compassion. It is a flavor that few find distasteful.
Of the aforementioned list, love stands out most. Jesus taught that: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
Even the words we speak should show this influence: "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one" (Colossians 4:6). Christ's influence in our lives will result in a "salty taste". And it's a flavor that most will appreciate.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss these ideas further.
Timothy D. Hall
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