I have recently had to deal with the fact that I am now officially old enough to not understand much of the current slang people use these days. However, one word I have picked up is “salty.” Someone is “salty” when they are insulting, over-the-top, or angry.
It’s fair to say we live in a time when it’s tempting to be “salty” a lot. There are lots of things and people to be frustrated at right now. Chances are, as we make the turn in to the final month before our national election, the temptation is only going to become greater.
This is just a reminder for all of us. Not only during this time, but at all times, we Christians are not called to be “salty.” We are called to be salt and light to the earth (Matthew 5.13-16). Being salt in Jesus’ sense means being different. It means being someone that gives things a good flavor.
Jesus calls his disciples “the salt of the Earth” immediately after describing them as blessed for imbodying countercultural behaviors at his time. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth… Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy… Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God,” to list three of the ten behaviors Jesus calls blessed (Matthew 5.2-11).
These are still countercultural behaviors today. What if we purposely did our best to embrace them instead of the “saltiness” that is all around us in this season? What if we saw in each of our neighbors, no matter whose candidate’s yard-sign is in their front lawn, someone Jesus loved enough to die for? What if we offered up any rage or anger we feel (and may even be justified to feel) about so many things these days, not to the wrathful spirit of the age, but to Jesus
Friends our anger, no matter how just and right, will not change America, at least not in the way we hope. Jesus, however, does something both smaller and larger. He changes us, from “salty” to “salt,” and then from his kind of salt, to light. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
May it be so in the days ahead. God bless,
