Just How Does That Work

Good old fashion table salt is a necessary ingredient for life. A chemist would call it, sodium chloride. Its chemical symbol is NaCl. Salt is an essential electrolyte used in every cell in the body. A shortage of salt can give the body cramps, cause dizziness, loss of conciseness, delusions and other complications including death. An excess of salt can cause edema, heart palpitations, seizures, and even death. A healthy body automatically takes care of the body’s sodium balance. Some people can use table salt and some cannot. Unless the body malfunctions and there is a problem with sodium balance we usually don't have to monitor our salt intake, but when diagnosed with high blood pressure or certain heart conditions, then we must begin to closely monitor our salt intake. It can be a matter of life and death. True? True.

We love our salt. We throw tons and tons of it on snow, icy roads and sidewalks. Doctors recommend gargling with salt water for sore throats. It is used for killing poison ivy, ants, repelling deer, removing numerous stains like wine, blood and grease. It exfoliates the skin. Cattle love a good block of salt and superstitious people throw a handful over their shoulders for good luck. There must be hundreds, maybe thousands, of other uses for salt. True? True.

The Bible has a something to say about salt. Jesus uses salt to illustrate three qualities that should be found in his people:

(1.) We should remember God’s faithfulness, just as salt when used with a sacrifice recalled God’s covenant with his people. (Leviticus 2:13)

(2.) We should make a difference in the “flavor” of the world we live in, just as salt changes’ meat and food flavor. (Matthew 5:13)

(3.) We should counteract the moral decay in society, just as salt preserves food from decay. When we lose this desire to “salt” the earth with the love and message of God, we become useless to him. True? True.

The ancient Egyptians used salt, and the Romans, and everybody else that paraded through history. Salt use is universal and common. The ocean is filled with salt. True? True. Many of the fish we eat from the ocean are taken from this salt water. Fact is: the majority of fish eaten comes from salt waters. True? True.

Have you noticed that none of these fish are salty? It is a fact. Fish taken from the ocean must be salted at the table for taste, or at the cannery. Why is it that fish can live its whole life in salt water, but none of the salt gets into it? Hmmm! Just how does that work? It’s just another example of God’s handiwork! The Christian can be reminded that, though we live in the world, we are not of the world, and the world should not be in us. True? True.

Just like salt makes us thirsty, our Christian witness should make those people around us thirsty. Thirsty to hear about God’s Word, the living water. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorra, he saved Lot and his family from the judgment of fire and brimstone. God had commanded those he saved not to look back at the burning city... “But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:26) Why you ask? Because…"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matt 5:13) Lot’s wife lost her spiritual salt and literally became salt. Salt that was trampled down under the feet of men. Do you find yourself looking back longingly at sin, clinging to the past, while trying to move forward with God. You can't make progress with God as long as you are holding to old pieces of your old life. Jesus said it best "No one can serve two masters". Matthew 6:24 True? True.