“Yuk….just yuk!” is all I could say or think when I tried the “No salt” potato chips. While I have been intentional about eating healthier and have found some really tasty food, I can honestly say, DO NOT add “NO Salt” chips to your list.
Last week as I sat down to lunch I opened a new bag of “Saltless” chips. It didn’t take but a minute of chewing for my whole mouth to feel as if it was full of “saw dust” as I munched on the chips that were definitely crunchy. There was no flavor and it felt as if I were chewing thin sawdust chips. I gagged for a few minutes and finally got up and gargled with water to clean out my mouth.
Worst tasting…NO tasting…stuff I have ever put into my mouth. There was in fact a “film” in my mouth. I ended up brushing my teeth. I have decided that when I want a sandwich and chips I am splurging and having the “salty” ones. I will sacrifice in another area of my diet.
The “NO SALT” chip experience really did remind me of the scripture found in Matthew 5:13. “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.” Just like I rolled up the bag of chips and threw them in the garbage, and don’t ever care to have that “lunch experience again,” this is exactly how it is when we “lose our saltiness” for Christ. There is no flavor….no taste….and, honestly, it is quite repulsive. I am encouraging myself and you to check our “saltiness!”
Scripture continues to elaborate in verse 14 for Christians to be “light to the world.” Light that helps everyone to see. Verse 16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may SEE your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” [emphasis mine]. This teaches me…our saltiness/light…is to be a part of us…NOT so much in what we say…but in WHAT WE DO. If you read scripture carefully, it talks about others “SEEING” the good deeds, the “SALTINESS,” in our lives.
“Saltiness” comes with our actions. James 2:17, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by ACTION is dead.” [emphasis mine]. Looking a little further in the book of James we read in James 2:24, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they DO and not by faith alone.” [emphasis mine]. What kind of Salty Action is required of Christians coupled with Faith?
Scripture teaches in James 2:25, “In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she DID when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” [emphasis mine].
Then there is the action of giving. Matthew 6:3, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who SEES what is done in secret, will reward you.” [emphasis mine]. There is Action in both. People see and so does GOD.
In the book of Hebrews chapter 11 it teaches of Abraham’s, Moses’, Rehab’s, Joseph’s, and Gideon’s faith being accompanied by “Salty Action”. If you study the whole of God’s word you see clearly that we are called to be “SALTY” in our taste to others. Our actions have to line up with our words or there is NO SALT. Saltiness comes through our Actions which are driven by our faith. God sees as well. No human likes “lip service” and neither does God.
I am considering my actions today and asking you to consider yours. Are they full of the “saltiness” that scripture teaches of? Am I? Are you “dangerously salty?” In other words, is there enough “salt” in my/your Christian walk that you would be at risk of leading someone to Christ just by your actions?
A great thing to remember: salt in isolation is NOT useful but salt in ASSOCIATION is very useful.
It is FAITH + DEEDS that leads to a salty life in Christ. Be salty in your ACTION!