“He’s a little salty.” That was the statement made about one of the residents at the retirement home we were visiting. It was a nicer way to say “he’s ornery”. The gentleman they were referring to was prone to fuss at everyone. It seemed no one could please him and he was quick to let them know it.  That phrase “he’s a little salty” has stuck with me since that day I first heard it.  Obviously being salty is not a good thing here. But there are some really good ways salt can add flavor to your life.

How Salt Can Add Flavor to Your Life

I don’t know about you but I”m a big fan of salt, too much so at times.  A diet with too much salt is not good for you but salt in and of itself is a wonderful mineral.

Salt is great for flavoring something that is lacking in flavor. Have you ever had a french fry without any salt? Yuck, not very appetizing but… add a little salt and Wow, delicious!

The Bible tells us that we Christians are supposed to be salt and light.

Now the light part is pretty obvious. Light drives darkness away and when we shine for Jesus we fight against the darkness of our enemy and of this lost world. As light we help others see that Jesus is the “Great light of the world”.

So what does it mean to be salt?

Salt Adds Flavor

“Pass the salt please. This stuff on my plate needs a little more flavor.”  The world as we know it is an awesome place. There are countless amazing things all around us. Even so, it’s missing something. Those who seem to have it all say there is just something missing. I think it’s Jesus. It’s a relationship with our creator. It’s what we were made for.

We can chase and even achieve the American dream but without God something is missing.

It’s the salt.

The missing element that brings all the flavor out of the things that are on our plate.  Everyone has a different plate.  Some have a gourmet meal with multiple courses and others have something more simple with just the necessary food groups. The wonderful thing about salt is that it brings more flavor to everything. As Christians we need to be bringing the flavor. We bring salt into a world that is “just missing something”. We are told to be His hands and feet and even His voice. When we do that we make the world a better place. Are we bringing it?

A little sweet never hurt anyone

After a wonderful meal I crave a little sweetness, a piece of cake or pie or maybe even just a cookie. No meal seems complete until I’ve had that little taste of sugar. Once again that’s where we Christians can help make others’ lives better and fuller by being sweet

Have you noticed that when someone is kind, even in bad situations, it improves things.

Have you ever seen the film “Wonder”, a great movie. I was deeply moved by how kindness from others in the form of friendship made all the difference in the central character’s life. It changed his entire outlook on his own life which was unbelievably full of hardships. When he was befriended he felt like he was skipping on the moon. If you’ve seen the movie you know what I mean. If you haven’t seen it you really should. It’s a wonderful family movie that will give you some great talking points for your family about the importance of being the kind of person that makes the world a better place. Which brings me back to the sweet factor. Are you sweet? Even to people that are salty like the gentleman I referenced earlier?  Our sweetness can make all the difference.

Salt and Sweet Make the Perfect Combination

There’s just something wonderful about that combination of saltiness and sweetness. I guess that’s why we love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or peanut butter and chocolate. For this guy peanut butter is the ultimate example of flavor perfection a little sweet and a little salty. Throw in some sugar like jelly or chocolate and Wow!

Just imagine the flavor we can bring to this bland world when we are representing Christ the way He wants us to.

If we’ll be that delicious combination of sweet and salt everywhere we go we’ll leave them with that perfect flavor that’ll make em think “Wow”!

David