Salt

Matthew 5:12 - You are the salt of the earth/world; but if the salt becomes tasteless, with what will it be salted? It will still be good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

So, I'm thinking about saltiness - how are people "salty." We make things better? Hardly! Maybe we have the capacity to make things better for others. Right? The salt is combined - one could even say 'consumed' - into the food. The food then tastes better and the salt loses itself in the process. Losing ourselves in order to make the world tastier - easier to deal with.

But only in the correct amount and when combined with certain foods. Some foods taste better with salt and others taste better without. A little sugar, a little salt, and a little fat (butter!) makes the world better. But too much salt ruins the taste. Chocolate tastes good with salt, but not too much.

Okay. So, I'm thinking this could be a metaphor for finding our 'sweet spot', so to speak. When we are using the talents we've been given in conjunction with our passions, our 'work' becomes salt for the world. Indeed, it is not like work. When we lose ourselves in the bigger cause of our passion, that passion becomes sweeter to us and to others around us. It becomes inspiring. Like a great teacher: Gandhi, MLK, Max, Ken, Greg Brewer! Our passions used correctly are the salt of the earth.

So, how do humans become tasteless? The obvious answer is that we deny our passions, our interests and our talents. Casting them out and trampling on them? Use it or lose it as the saying goes.

Is there another way for humans to become tasteless? Here's a thought; right now I'm very susceptible to others being selfish and obnoxious for no real reason. It gets in the way of my sleep and diverts my energy to a useless cause. An example is Mike downstairs. When he plays drums in the daytime, I have no problem. When he plays loud music, I immediately get angry and anxious. It's more than not being able to control it; it's the judgment piece. I lose myself, to be sure, but not in a constructive way. I become good for nothing else when I focus on my anger. Could this be one way I become tasteless?

Luckily, there is a way to get our salt back - even as salt itself does not lose its saltiness, neither do we! I can do a fourth step around why this is such a problem in my life. Who am I really angry with? What am I reacting to? How can I move past it? I really do not want to be beholden to this anger any longer.

I want to become salty! To make my life and the lives of those around me less tasteless, less oppressive and less unjust. Salt improves the taste of food - I can improve my corner of the world.

Show me the way, Lord.
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