Please Pass the Salt

Last year about this time, Jim and I made a visit to the ER, and as a result, Jim was hospitalized for a few days. He experienced an episode of Atrial fibrillation. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is where the heart develops an arrhythmia. The doctors tried a few types of medicine, but without a favorable response, they instantly shocked Jim’s heart, resetting it into a normal rhythm. We left the hospital with medication and had to follow up with a lot of testing with a cardiologist. Jim passed all the tests with flying colors, and they could not find anything wrong with his heart.

However, it was determined that Jim’s episode was due to his electrolytes getting low. The few days before his hospitalization, Jim and the other family members had been working long hours on an outdoor project in sweltering, humid conditions. I noticed Jim drinking a lot of water but I didn’t think much about. Jim had worked in the fire service for 40+ years and I knew he had good endurance. The cardiologist told us the best he could determine was Jim had pretty much through perspiration had literally flushed out the salt and potassium his body needed to maintain a good rhythm in his heart. He was able to go off the medication a few weeks later and has never had one ounce of trouble since, but we both learned a few lessons from the experience (like hydrating with Gatorade-type drink in the future).

First, we were reminded about the reality of aging. Neither of us is as young as we think we are in our mind’s eye. Though Jim had developed great endurance and kept himself very fit due to a demanding career, he needed to pace himself and prepare for heavy work a little more thoroughly. We also learned the value of keeping ourselves hydrated in the sometimes relentless heat and humidity in South Carolina and adding electrolytes like salt and potassium to our water when working outside. When I was young, my mom, who worked in the auto plant, relayed they used to pass out salt tablets to combat dehydration among the workers during the summer. In these cases, salt was a lifesaver.

When Jesus finished with the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, He told us we were the salt of the earth. As I was studying this, I was reminded He didn’t say we could be, we might be, or even if we want to be; he said we ARE the salt of the earth! This means when I enter a genuine relationship with Him, part of the transformation I experience is that I become an agent He uses to “season” the world around me for His glory. I have already mentioned the importance salt plays in keeping hearts in rhythm. If you know anyone who experiences episodes of low sodium due to illness, you probably know this usually results in a visit to the hospital like Jim had to do. Folks who face this get muscle cramps, weakness, fatigue, heart issues, etc. I can’t help but think of the danger of when my “spiritual sodium” gets low and how the quality of my life is impacted. This is usually a result of too much self and not enough Jesus. Filling my mind with the cares and concerns of daily life and what I think will solve it as opposed to renewing my mind with what Christ says will see me through is one way my heart gets to out of rhythm with His. Lack of prayer and, of course , the “s” word- sin. Indulging my selfish desires will always lead to low spiritual sodium, and it is not long before I struggle with spiritual fatigue and my ability to combat evil is hindered. As a result, I get weaker, and any influence for Christ I might have on those around me is either diminished or exterminated.

Jesus himself references this when He follows up his declaration about identifying believers as the salt of the earth with this question. I like the wording in The Message of this .”If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste Godliness? We know salt adds flavor to food. Without it, our food is bland. When we forfeit the opportunity to “season ” for God, we pass the chance for others to taste and see that the Lord is good. We miss the blessing! We also know that salt is a preservative. I used to watch with amazement as my grandfather would preserve or “salt cure” a ham and hang it in the smokehouse. That piece of meat would be totally submerged and coated with salt. Come later in the year, that ham was some of the most flavorful meat I have ever eaten! Sometimes the Lord, in perfect timing, keeps situations from becoming totally decayed by placing us and using us in the lives of others to administer love and grace. Salt can be a life preserver!

We also know salt is an antiseptic. If you have ever had dental work or a sore throat, warm salt water rinse is the prescribed course of treatment. Jesus means for us to add the flavor of Him and His presence to everything and everyone around us. Christ desires us to be an agent for preserving what is good and moral. And where there is need, He alone can use us to bring cleanliness and healing to the wounded. If we don’t willingly let Him use us in these manners or lose our “saltiness,” Jesus tells us we have lost our usefulness and will be garbage underfoot.

Reflecting on this scripture, I must ask myself, how is my spiritual sodium level today? Am I diluting my saltiness by gulping down the seemingly satisfying stuff of the world around me while, in reality, I am getting drier in my spirit and losing my savor? I am reminded living water replenishes!

Am I committing myself daily to being used by God in whatever circumstances He desires? Will I allow myself to be used as a preservative and strive for purity so I maintain my effectiveness? Will I lean into the Lord even when the saltiness he has placed within me stings me and others when He wants to clean and heal?

Most importantly, will I seek to keep “salty” by reading and committing to commune and fellowship with Him through His word, prayer, and meditation so that my heart maintains a healthy rhythm that keeps in the sink with His? If not, I need to get into my prayer closet, get quiet and ask the Holy Spirit to please pass the salt.

Lord, it would seem that the world, in general, is struggling from low spiritual sodium. It is morally weak, fatigued with fear and discouragement. At the same time, often, we, as your people, have pushed ourselves away from the table of life. Remind me, Lord, you and your goodness are to be the aftertaste I leave in the mouth of others. Help me heal and preserve for your glory and purpose. Keep my heart in rhythm, Jesus. Make me Salty.

Come back here next time, the 5 o’clock worker is reminded to turn the light on in the vineyard as the series “Moments on the Mountain” continues.