Yesterday's post introduced this concept of how Christians are called "the salt of the earth" by Jesus. If I'm honest though I have regularly regarded salt as a dull and commonplace mineral or seasoning, and I think there is often a similarly mistaken notion that Christians are party-poopers or big sticks-in-the-mud or just plain boring. This is exactly the opposite of who and what we are called to be as the salt of the earth! If you are one huge stick-in-the-mud, then you’re doing this wrong. Yesterday, I introduced the concept that as the "salt of the earth," we are actually supposed to be flavor-enhancing. Like salt, we are supposed to enhance the good flavors in life and in others. So, let's try to erase that dull, stick-in-the-mud sort of image. Instead, think about someone in your life that just seems to make your life better somehow, that brightens up your days, that brings out the best in you, the person that you'd call when you're having a rough day and you really need it to become a better day. If you don't know anyone like that, then imagine it. Now try to wrap your head around the fact that we're supposed to be more like that! Wouldn't you like to know more people like that? Would you like to be a person like that? How exactly are we supposed to be doing this? As Christians, I believe that we are called to bring out the best flavors of those around us and of the life before us. How exactly are we supposed to act as a flavor-enhancer though? Believe it or not, I think we're supposed to do this in much the same way that salt does it!
First off, we bring our own unique flavor to the table. Your salty is going to look a little bit different from my salty, but we should have one common characteristic between us. Jesus told His disciples, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35) Regardless of your unique brand of saltiness, it should be coming from a place of love. Peter really addressed both the priority of love and how we each have our own flavor to offer in 1 Peter 4:8-11 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." So basically, make love a paramount priority in your life, and then whatever you were designed to do, do that! Really, it's that simple. Are you the kind of person that can bring beauty out of commonplace materials? Do that with all your heart! Do you delight in having guests over to your home? Do that with joy! Do you walk into a room and immediately see who needs a hand with something? Go help! Are you the kind of person that can just talk and talk and talk? Then use your voice in love! Love first, then do the stuff He perfectly designed you to do so that we can show God's grace to others in all its many and splendid forms and so that God may be praised in ALL things. How simple and beautiful that is! I'm so grateful to know that there's nothing wrong with my flavor! (Who guessed that I'm a talker? Anyone? Want to chat about it for a while?) I just need to use it in love, relying on Him, and my unique brand of flavor-enhancing will bring praise to God!
Not only do we bring our own unique flavor to the table, but we also help to bring out the best flavors in others. Just like adding salt to pea soup helps you to taste the peas better, we can help others to be the best that they can be in whatever recipe they find themselves. Hebrews 10:24-25a describes this calling on our lives thusly, “ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.” Helping to bring out the best flavors in others takes thoughtful consideration and intentionally spending time together. It also requires humility. Just as too much salt does nothing but overwhelm the pot, we are reminded to "Live in harmony with one another." (Romans 12:16a) We do our best enhancing when we remember our place and stay humble!
So, what might it look like for someone to bring out the best flavors in someone else? The people who do this regularly for me are the people that I trust, that I open myself up to because I know that they see me and love me as I am. They are neither starstruck by my accomplishments nor horrified by my failures. They recognize and love me fully. Because of this, sometimes they can see the good in me when I’m not so sure of it myself, and sometimes they give me the kick in the pants that I need to be a better me (This is that iron sharpening iron thing that Proverbs 27:17 talks about.). Either way though, it’s their grace, truth, and love that gives them the opportunity to do this in my life. Spending time with them truly helps me to be the best me that I can be. As Christians, we should be the most grace-filled, truthful, loving group of people on the planet. We should have the opportunity to do this for others regularly! This sort of flavor-enhancing really takes extended time and a strong connection in someone's life though. There are other ways to bring out the best flavors in someone even if we're not "besties".
If we take Hebrews exhortation to "consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds" seriously, we will think about who they are, what they are meant to do, and how we can best encourage them in that. This can take many different forms. It may mean looking at everything on someone’s plate and saying, “Don’t worry about the laundry this month. I’ll come over once a week for that.” or “I would love to donate some finances to this mission God has called you to.” You may be able to encourage someone best simply by letting them know you're praying for them (and then actually doing it!), or you may need to get in the thick of those deeds with that person and help them out. Encouragement can come in so many different unique flavors. There’s a reason that God designed us all with our own unique flavor to offer as an enhancement for those around us! Truly think about how YOU can best encourage SPECIFIC OTHER PEOPLE. This takes intentionality and will likely look different in different situations with different people. That's as it should be. You're not trying to bring out one specific good flavor in everyone you meet. You're trying to bring out THEIR best flavors. You have to really consider then how God designed them and what He has placed before them to be doing right now. Whatever the best form of encouragement you can offer into another's life, we all need to truly take the time to consider how best to spur someone on, we need to prioritize spending time together, and we need to remember the importance of humility in it all.
Finally, we can act as flavor-enhancers by actually subduing some of the bitter qualities in life. If you've ever seen someone add salt to fruit, this is why they do it because salt suppresses bitterness. Philippians gives advice not only on how exactly to subdue the bitter qualities in our own lives but with what to replace those ugly qualities. "Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies." (Phil. 4:8-9, MSG) We're supposed to focus on the best flavors in this life, not the worst. Be the kind of person that purposefully replaces bitterness with noble, compelling, praiseworthy deliciousness. Meditate on the good, not the bad. This has the power to bring out the best flavors in our own lives and in the lives of those who spend time around us! As we do this, we can trust God to work everything together and to work us into His most excellent harmonies. What a delightful way to live life!
At the top of this post, I said that I used to think of salt as dull. I've even heard undercurrents of complaints in the church that Christians are expected to be boring. I hope by now you recognize that we are called to be anything but dull and boring. We are expected to bring out the best in life and in others! We are meant to be the ingredient used to really bring this dish of life together in beautiful harmony! This is a part of our astonishing role as the salt of the earth. In future posts, we still get to look at our role as a preservative and at our value, but for now, share what you think about our role as a flavor-enhancer in the comments. Maybe we can consider how to spur one another on in love and good deeds together. I hope you'll join me in the next post too as we continue to examine our saltiness!
How can you enhance the flavors in others and in their lives? How have others brought out the best flavors in you before? Please comment with any thoughts you have to offer. Let’s sharpen each other even here as we consider this!
First off, we bring our own unique flavor to the table. Your salty is going to look a little bit different from my salty, but we should have one common characteristic between us. Jesus told His disciples, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35) Regardless of your unique brand of saltiness, it should be coming from a place of love. Peter really addressed both the priority of love and how we each have our own flavor to offer in 1 Peter 4:8-11 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." So basically, make love a paramount priority in your life, and then whatever you were designed to do, do that! Really, it's that simple. Are you the kind of person that can bring beauty out of commonplace materials? Do that with all your heart! Do you delight in having guests over to your home? Do that with joy! Do you walk into a room and immediately see who needs a hand with something? Go help! Are you the kind of person that can just talk and talk and talk? Then use your voice in love! Love first, then do the stuff He perfectly designed you to do so that we can show God's grace to others in all its many and splendid forms and so that God may be praised in ALL things. How simple and beautiful that is! I'm so grateful to know that there's nothing wrong with my flavor! (Who guessed that I'm a talker? Anyone? Want to chat about it for a while?) I just need to use it in love, relying on Him, and my unique brand of flavor-enhancing will bring praise to God!
Not only do we bring our own unique flavor to the table, but we also help to bring out the best flavors in others. Just like adding salt to pea soup helps you to taste the peas better, we can help others to be the best that they can be in whatever recipe they find themselves. Hebrews 10:24-25a describes this calling on our lives thusly, “ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.” Helping to bring out the best flavors in others takes thoughtful consideration and intentionally spending time together. It also requires humility. Just as too much salt does nothing but overwhelm the pot, we are reminded to "Live in harmony with one another." (Romans 12:16a) We do our best enhancing when we remember our place and stay humble!
So, what might it look like for someone to bring out the best flavors in someone else? The people who do this regularly for me are the people that I trust, that I open myself up to because I know that they see me and love me as I am. They are neither starstruck by my accomplishments nor horrified by my failures. They recognize and love me fully. Because of this, sometimes they can see the good in me when I’m not so sure of it myself, and sometimes they give me the kick in the pants that I need to be a better me (This is that iron sharpening iron thing that Proverbs 27:17 talks about.). Either way though, it’s their grace, truth, and love that gives them the opportunity to do this in my life. Spending time with them truly helps me to be the best me that I can be. As Christians, we should be the most grace-filled, truthful, loving group of people on the planet. We should have the opportunity to do this for others regularly! This sort of flavor-enhancing really takes extended time and a strong connection in someone's life though. There are other ways to bring out the best flavors in someone even if we're not "besties".
If we take Hebrews exhortation to "consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds" seriously, we will think about who they are, what they are meant to do, and how we can best encourage them in that. This can take many different forms. It may mean looking at everything on someone’s plate and saying, “Don’t worry about the laundry this month. I’ll come over once a week for that.” or “I would love to donate some finances to this mission God has called you to.” You may be able to encourage someone best simply by letting them know you're praying for them (and then actually doing it!), or you may need to get in the thick of those deeds with that person and help them out. Encouragement can come in so many different unique flavors. There’s a reason that God designed us all with our own unique flavor to offer as an enhancement for those around us! Truly think about how YOU can best encourage SPECIFIC OTHER PEOPLE. This takes intentionality and will likely look different in different situations with different people. That's as it should be. You're not trying to bring out one specific good flavor in everyone you meet. You're trying to bring out THEIR best flavors. You have to really consider then how God designed them and what He has placed before them to be doing right now. Whatever the best form of encouragement you can offer into another's life, we all need to truly take the time to consider how best to spur someone on, we need to prioritize spending time together, and we need to remember the importance of humility in it all.
Finally, we can act as flavor-enhancers by actually subduing some of the bitter qualities in life. If you've ever seen someone add salt to fruit, this is why they do it because salt suppresses bitterness. Philippians gives advice not only on how exactly to subdue the bitter qualities in our own lives but with what to replace those ugly qualities. "Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies." (Phil. 4:8-9, MSG) We're supposed to focus on the best flavors in this life, not the worst. Be the kind of person that purposefully replaces bitterness with noble, compelling, praiseworthy deliciousness. Meditate on the good, not the bad. This has the power to bring out the best flavors in our own lives and in the lives of those who spend time around us! As we do this, we can trust God to work everything together and to work us into His most excellent harmonies. What a delightful way to live life!
At the top of this post, I said that I used to think of salt as dull. I've even heard undercurrents of complaints in the church that Christians are expected to be boring. I hope by now you recognize that we are called to be anything but dull and boring. We are expected to bring out the best in life and in others! We are meant to be the ingredient used to really bring this dish of life together in beautiful harmony! This is a part of our astonishing role as the salt of the earth. In future posts, we still get to look at our role as a preservative and at our value, but for now, share what you think about our role as a flavor-enhancer in the comments. Maybe we can consider how to spur one another on in love and good deeds together. I hope you'll join me in the next post too as we continue to examine our saltiness!
How can you enhance the flavors in others and in their lives? How have others brought out the best flavors in you before? Please comment with any thoughts you have to offer. Let’s sharpen each other even here as we consider this!
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