Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Empathy Mining

Home
Progressive Christian
Salt is Like That

Salt is Like That

Last updated on: July 8, 2017 at 6:27 pm by Shane Phipps

Salt is Like That 2017-07-08T18:27:46-04:00 Shane Phipps

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Photo credit: imgarcade.com/

Salt is one of the most versatile things in the world. Two elements, sodium and chloride, bind together to form a compound that can sustain life or snuff it out. Salt makes up nearly half of percent of our bodies. We, like all mammals, crave salt–we need to take it in to maintain our health. Without the proper amount of it, we can’t transmit nerve impulses, contract and relax our muscles, or maintain a proper balance of bodily fluids. Yet, we only need a small bit–too much can lead to serious problems, way too much can kill us.

The Bible talks about salt a lot. Metaphorical biblical references to salt are both positive and negative.

Salt is like that.

I see salt as a metaphor for the way Christians respond to society–indeed, the way I respond to society. I tend to break it down to four categories. Two of the categories have a positive impact and two have negative consequences. In the interest of full disclosure, I should admit right up front that I have been all four of these types of salt. I’ve used my salt for good and bad.

Salt is like that–I am like that.

Salt Burns and Irritates

It is a famous expression–rubbing salt in the wound.

How many times have you seen a Christian kick someone when they are down? We see a brother or a sister fall and instead of reaching out to pick them up, we look down upon them in judgement and say or do something that makes them feel worse. I can still remember an incident when I was a child, when a stranger wandered into our small town church’s evening service. He was dirty, smelly, and dressed in tattered, scroungy clothing. He seemed nervous and fidgety. He looked out of place and somewhat “suspicious.” I remember that I was very aware that most people in the congregation seemed not to be paying any attention to the sermon but rather, kept stealing concerned glances at the stranger. I recall a couple people getting up and going to the lobby outside the sanctuary. A moment later, an usher came in and discretely whispered something to the stranger. After that, the stranger got up and sheepishly walked out of the sanctuary. Even a youngster like myself could put two and two together and figure out what happened there. Some folks in my church didn’t like the looks of a stranger in their worship service and asked him to leave. It was as if they said, this is a place for Christians to gather, you don’t look Christian enough to be in church. That was some bad salt. Over the years, I’ve often wondered what became of that stranger. I know he didn’t get a very good impression of Christians from my church that day.

In recent years, I’ve seen similar situations unfold countless times in comment sections on social media. It seems like Christians can be way too quick to pour bad salt into open wounds. Salt can irritate wounded people and drive them away.

Salt is like that.

Salt Kills Soil and Prevents Growth

For centuries, salt has been used against enemies to ruin their crop fields. “Salting the earth” has been practiced as a weapon of warfare. At times, when one people conquered another, they would treat the fields of the conquered society with salt to prevent them from being able to quickly recover, thus keeping them in a weakened condition for extended periods of time.

I have seen Christians salting the earth in different ways in recent times.

I have seen Christians use carefully selected portions of the Bible to justify the revoking of hard-fought legal rights from women and the LGBTQ community. The inevitable result of their efforts has caused a great divide that has doubtless driven many people far from the message of Christ.

I have seen millions of Christians line up to vote for Donald Trump and then take glee in the misery of their “snowflake” brethren. They have sown salt into the fields of progress and it remains to be seen how long those fields will lie fallow–but the prognosis seems bleak. Salt can halt progress.

Salt is like that.

Salt Can Bring Out Flavor

How bland would some food be without salt? Salt has a way of bringing flavors out in food that remain hidden without it.

Just as a proper dose of salt can bring out the flavor in food, a proper dose of perspective can bring out empathy in a debate. We are not ever going to agree with each other about everything. it’s not possible, and it’s not even something we should strive for–consensus is overrated. But if we use our salt of perspective carefully and thoughtfully, and we are willing to be spiced by the salt of perspective from others–by listening–we can bring out the savory empathy in each other.

Empathy is in short supply. We need to be willing to share our salt respectfully–giving perspective and receiving it from others. Without this exchange, we will walk the world as bland, tasteless beings, never realizing our beautiful potential.

Salt can bring out the best in what it’s allowed to permeate.

Salt is like that.

Salt Can Preserve

For much of human history, keeping food from spoiling was a difficult proposition. Without refrigeration, perishable food items, like meat, will quickly turn rancid. Salt has been used to solve this problem for centuries.

Christians, at our best, can use our salt as a preservative.

We can use our salt to pray. When Christians come together in earnest, fervent prayer, the power is often palpable and the results can be miraculous.

When I was very young, a man in my home church–and a close friend of my parents–was severely burned in a tragic explosion where he worked. He was at death’s door and not expected to live. The people of my little church, and many in the town at large, began a non-stop, ’round the clock prayer vigil. The burned man miraculously pulled through and after a series of surgeries and skin grafts, he made a full recovery–in fact, he ended up being one of my high school basketball coaches. That series of events and the extraordinary example of the power of prayer was eventually immortalized in a song, I’m So Glad I’m a Part of the Family of God, written by the two most famous residents of my little home town–and members of my little church at the time of that tragedy–gospel music legends, Bill and Gloria Gaither.

We can also use our salt in loving support.

When we see struggling people, like that stranger who straggled into my church long ago–yes the same church that came together to pray for the burned man–we can reach out to them and help to lift them up. Jesus was a consistent example of how we should use our salt to support the least of these, our brothers.

Salt is like that.

As I said at the beginning, I’ve used my salt in all four of the ways I laid out above. I’m guessing most of you have, too. I mentioned the little small town church of my childhood twice, using salt to harm and to help.

Salt is like that.

How will you use your salt today?

Multiple Perspectives

Previous Post

July 6, 2017

Steph Curry's New Contract Reflects America's Biggest Problem

Next Post

July 8, 2017 A Simple Proposal to End Congressional Insider Trading

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 150 word story 2nd Amendment AARP abortion addiction aging alcoholism Anderson Wigwam Andrew Jackson Appalachia Basketball bias bigotry Black Lives Matter Christianity Christmas, Constitution, Bill of Rights Civil War Clinton cloning confirmation bias Conservation Constitution Controversial Creationism Creepy tales David Bowie depression Dogs Education Election Electoral College Empathy Environmental Evolution exvangelical faith Family Family History Fantasy Genealogy Genesis George Washington Ghetto Global Warming Gun Control health care High School Basketball Hillary History Hockey homosexuality Hoosier Hysteria Hoosiers Hunting immigration income inequality Interview ISTEP Jurassic Park Kaepernick Ken Hamm Kids say the Darndest things LGBTQ Love MAGA Manifest Destiny Merit Pay Mike Pence Muhammad Ali Multiple Perspectives Music Music Review Nashville News media NHL No Child Left Behind NRA Paradox Parenting Pence Perspective Politics POTUS Poverty Predators Race Religion religious freedom Sci Fi Science Secret of Life sexual harrassment Short Stories Slavery Small Town Indiana Smashville Social Commentary social media sports Stress technology Terrorism Thomas Jefferson Trauma Trump Turning 50 Uncategorized war Washington DC White Privilege wooly mammoths words in red Writing Writing Process Writing, Writing Process Young Earth

Select a Month June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 August 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did God use to speak to Moses in the wilderness?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A thunderstorm A pillar of fire A mighty wind A burning bush

Support this
Column