Shake It

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matt 5:13 (KJV)

We have all been disgusted at the recent news that a 'News of the World' reporter/private investigator hacked into the voicemail of the murdered teenager, Millie Dowler. More so because it happened while the search for her was ongoing, and it also gave the family false hope that she was still alive. The cold, cynical member of this newspaper (actually this is not a newspaper, more of a tabloid comic) had no thought, feeling, or heart for the anguish of a broken family, desperately looking for any sign that their daughter/sister was still alive.

Then I look at the wee verse above, and it feels cosy and good. Jesus called us the salt of the earth, and this is nice and true, and to be celebrated and exercised. That is where we sit back, and think we have done our bit, by just being good. Salt. Seasoning. Making the whole dish of this world a better place, just because we are here. Trouble is, this is only the first quarter of the verse. Take another look at the rest of the words, equally spoken by Jesus, and with all the same weight.

I ask myself, have I lost any/some of my savour? Am I the kind of person who wants his salt to be able to make some kind of difference to the dish of this world I inhabit, for this short time? If I don't live like salt, I become useless for the purpose I was made by God. I become irrelevant, lose my effectiveness, and those around me discard anything I say or do, because they will see though me. I am then “trodden underfoot of men”, and rendered a hypocrite and useless in God's Kingdom.

Scary thought, isn't it? The Millie Dowler case is not the only one which shows the need for some Christian seasoning, although it highlights the urgency for us to live and act like the salt God intended us to be. Maybe a little more salt in the newsroom would have made a difference? Then I ask myself, what would the world be like if all the Christian salt was removed? So, the next time you wonder what difference you are making in this short, earthly journey, think about your life as salt, and shake it liberally around you as you trek through this one time 'dish' of life, before we hit Heaven, and eternal life. Now tell me it isn't worth the effort?