Life / Religion / Philosophy / Science / Polictics

Tag: Salt

  • Do You Want to Change the World?

    Currently, here in the United States of America, we are going through an election cycle for the President Of The United States. The candidates making their pitch to the citizens for the highest office in the country, each have a vision for how they would change things for the better. They all want to do something, and sometimes, what that something is, is hard to discern. They also want to bring their vision of change ostensibly on behalf of the people they represent. Seemingly without regard as to what that change would mean to the people or how it would affect them.

    How about yourself?  Have you ever wanted to change the world?  Have you ever wanted to right a wrong?  Build a bridge?  Or tear down a wall?  Have you ever wanted to unite people?  Or divide the good from the evil?  I think all of us, to some extent or another, have wanted to impart our own particular version of change upon that area we can affect, at one time or another.  We all, seemingly want to change the world.

    My question is why?  Why do YOU, personally, want to change the world?  To what end?  And what would be accomplished?  And this is not a matter that is particular or unique to any one group or world view.  Christian’s want to CHANGE the world for Jesus Christ.  Atheists want to CHANGE the world by stamping out (supposed) religious fantasy, and even Agnostics want to CHANGE the world by having everyone else just leave everyone alone.  And somehow I can’t help but believe we’ve all gotten it wrong.  And the group I am most concerned with today is the Theistic group.  Because that is the group that I believe actually has the most potential to effect a change in the world, IF they were to do their part.  And here is why I believe that is so ,,,

    If your world view is Atheistic, you cannot possibly believe there is any outside or external influence upon the forces in the world today.  It is a closed system and, as I have argued in past posts, is subject to the physical and meta-physical laws of the universe around us.  The mere fact that you even want to change the world was set in motion (supposedly) billions of years ago at the outset of the (so-called) Big Bang.  You can no more change the world than you can defy the laws of gravity or nature.  Everything around you is governed by a set of events you have absolutely no control over and has no meaning attached to it.  It just is what it is.  So why do you need to effect any change to begin with?  All of time is going to play out governed by the laws of the universe whether you like it or not.

    If you are Agnostic in your world view you really shouldn’t care one way or the other.  After all, Que Sera, Sera.  Whatever will be, will be.  The problem the Agnostic faces is that they truly cannot be left alone.  The Agnostic has to exist in a world alongside both Theists and Atheists.  And at some point they are going to be infringed upon.  At some point the Agnostic is forced to care and to act in their own best interests.  And even that is a misnomer because even then the true Agnostic shouldn’t really care.  Why would you?  A true Agnostic would just go with the flow.  They are along for the ride and hope that it all sorts itself out in the end.

    The Theist however should believe in a God.  A Spiritual realm that has an external influence upon the world and that is acting out on a greater plane than we see or experience here in the physical realm.  And this is the group I have the greatest concern over.

    Christians want to CHANGE the world for God.  And yet as Theists, the Christian should recognize that it is their very God who is in control.  It is he who orchestrates change in the life of a person and it is he who moves to effect His will in the world today.  The ONE thing a Christian should want is to get out-of-the-way and let God work!

    Nowhere in Scripture do I find the commandment to CHANGE the world.  Christians so often misinterpret their own directives and try to apply them to others around them, when in reality, they are only commanded to follow.  The question I would ask is How can you be following if you are constantly trying to change the direction of others around you?

    Christians believe they are to be the Salt of the earth (a concept I’ve addressed in this post before).  Christians can’t preserve the status quo.  Nor are they intended to.  Christians as Salt should be the savor in the world.  That which makes the taste palatable.  And one might ask whom they are making the taste palatable for?  Why God of course!  Not for others or ourselves, but for Him!  The great I Am.

    Christians believe they should be the Light of the world.  But light has never caused me to change my path in and of itself.  It has illuminated my path and helped me along my way.  But it has never directed my path.  Light illuminates, but it does not direct or dictate a way to go.

    So what then should we do?  I have always told my congregation that they have one obligation in their Christian lives.  And that is to keep their eyes on the Cross.  A Christians obligation is to simply take up their cross and follow after Jesus Christ.  When your eyes are on the Cross of Jesus Christ, everything you see will be filtered by His sight, by His will, and for His Glory.  And then He will effect real change in the world we live in.  Not because of what we have done, but because of what He has done.

    So what about you, Christian?  Do you want to change the world?  Then keep your eyes on the Cross of Jesus Christ.  Take up your cross and follow after him.  By applying all of your attention to the Creator of the Universe and by simply following Him, Jesus Christ, you WILL become the Salt and the Light of the world.  And the world WILL change.  Not because of what we have done, but because of what we have STOPPED doing.  Stop trying to CHANGE the world and allow the Sovereign God to work and the world WILL CHANGE.

  • Are You the Salt of the Earth?

    Salt (NaCl), specifically sodium chloride, or common table salt, is a most useful compound.  It is quite common (and necessary) in all cultures and in everyone’s daily lives.  It can be used for many different purposes.  One of the most common purposes that the vast majority of people would be familiar with is as a seasoning for food.  Indeed, salt is the first example listed in most English dictionary definitions of seasoning.  Salt also has preservative capabilities and will keep things fresh for long periods of time.  This is because of salts dehydrating property.  When salt comes into contact with bacteria it will absorb water through the cell walls of the bacteria depriving it of the water it needs to survive (as explained in this Chemistry.com article).  Salt may also be used for certain healing purposes and has been used as a healing agent for sick and injured people for centuries, according to this EHow.com article, and has great medical benefits according to this LiveStrong.com article.  By-the-way, for this particular discussion I am not authenticating the accuracy of these sites.  I am proceeding on the assumption that we may all agree that salt has been recognized and used as a healing agent for many centuries and continues to be used as such today.  These links are provided as examples only.  If you want to debate the specifics of salt as a healing agent, that will have to be a separate discussion.

    Salt also has a Theological connotation, specifically a Biblical one (as you might have surmised from the title of today’s post).  Most Christians, and quite a few other folks are familiar with at least this specific verse from the Sermon on the Mount (containing the Beatitudes).  Specifically, Jesus, teaching his disciples, said that they were the salt of the Earth.  But what was Jesus saying, exactly, when he said his disciples were the salt of the Earth?

    I know many Christians that believe he meant that his disciples are to be the preserving agent of the Earth (in this case Society).  Indeed, I have heard this preached from the pulpits in churches before.  I know some Christians that believe he meant his disciples are to be the healing agent of the Earth (Society).  Very seldom do you hear Christians talk as if they believe he meant that his disciples are to be the seasoning of the Earth (Society).

    The problem is in exactly how you interpret this passage because that is what will govern your actions and shape your interactions with others.  As another aside here, not only Christians may benefit from these principles, even though Jesus specifically said HIS disciples are the salt of the Earth, everyone can learn and apply a lesson to their lives here.

    So how do we interpret Jesus’ words here?  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon tells us that the word salt used here specifically refers to those saline (salty) compounds that act as fertilizers for fields used for growing crops.  Hence SALT of the EARTH.  This seems to be in direct contrast to salt as seasoning since in this context table salt would not be what you would use (table salt would render the field sterile).  However, the second phrase is different and refers to salt directly as a seasoning.  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon also tells us that the emphasis placed within the Greek is such that the second phrase is the important phrase.  This is also supported by the ending phrase.  Specifically, we should interpret the verse as Jesus telling his disciples they are to be the seasoning of the Earth.

    OK.  So what?  What does that have to do with me and my life today?  Well to answer that question, lets look at the different methods and properties of salt in its various uses.

    In the case of salt acting as a preservative it is because of its dehydrating properties, specifically with bacteria that may be on the food.  When YOU (as the salt of the Earth) interact with others as a preservative, you are attacking the bacteria of Society sucking all the water out through the cell walls.  You are killing the bacteria and preserving the food.  The problem with this approach is that it is not our job to preserve the food.  That is the job of the Holy Spirit.  The idea here is that the food being preserved is the Holiness of God himself.  And we, the salt of the Earth, rush right in to kill all the bacteria in order to preserve the status quo.  This is a harsh property of salt and is destructive to the bacteria itself.  God did not put us here to kill all the bacteria on Earth, indeed that is an impossible task, rather God is perfectly capable of defending his own honor.  We are not here as a caustic effect, but rather an enhancing effect.

    Similarly, salt acting as a healing agent has harsh properties attacking bacteria within wounds and cleansing soiled areas.  How many of us have gone swimming in the ocean with an open cut or wound and felt the sting of the salt water against the cut?  We are not here to heal all the wounds of the Earth, nor to sting those with open cuts.  That is not our purpose as salt.

    Rather we are to be the salt that is seasoning.  We are the salt that makes Life taste good.  We should be the salt that everyone is reaching for at the kitchen table.  The salt that is going to add flavor to the food.  The salt that is the spice of Life.  And an interesting note here, too much salt and the food no longer tastes good.  If the salt shaker loses its cap and the salt dumps all over the meat, most of us will cry in anguish.  The food will be too salty.  Flavoring is all about just the right amount.

    So how about you?  Are you the Salt of the Earth?  Are you the caustic preservative out to kill all the bacteria in the world?  Are you the healing agent stinging open wounds?  Or are you the savory seasoning making the Lives of those around you taste good?  Applied in just the right amount?  To the right foods?  Enhancing the flavor of all around you?  Which SALT are you?