Salt is a precious commodity. Without it life can be rather bland – literally! But it is not just for flavoring food. Salt also preserves. In fact, salt can be used for a number of things. The last few summers we have used salt in our pool. The salt creates natural chlorine which is safer, cleaner, and less expensive. All summer we have had a beautiful, clean, refreshing pool to swim in.
That is until last week.
This is what happens when you do not have enough salt in your pool water.
The water becomes a nasty green color. So even though it’s still hot outside, no one would dare enter. We figured that we would have one more month to swim so we really needed to clean up the pool. Dana and I had a decision to make. You see, it was very tempting to just put a cover on it, close it down, and call it good for the year. There was only one problem with that – the water underneath would still be green. As much as we would love to cover up the problem doing so wouldn’t make it go away.
This whole episode brought to mind our spiritual lives. Christ says that as His disciples we are the salt of the earth. But sometimes it can seem that we have lost our savour. I know it happens to me on occasion. I’m walking strong with my Lord and Master. I’m reading my Bible every day. I’m studying and memorizing Scripture. I’m praying as I should. Then a day or two will go by. I’ll get busy and I’ll realize that I haven’t been studying my Bible or praying. Out of the blue, I’m not walking with the Lord as I should. It is as though all of a sudden my pool water has become green and nasty. This is where the choice comes in. I can be tempted to throw the cover of busyness, good works, or hypocrisy over it. Or, I can deal with the problem.
Dana and I decided to deal with our pool water by buying some Shock It. It was simple, a few bags and already our pool is turning back to its beautiful blue color.
The “Shock It” for the Christian is just as effortless. It’s a simple turning back to our Lord. It is running into his outstretched arms. It is slowing down and seeking His face. It is resting in Him and finding joy in His strength. It is feasting on His Word and hiding it in our hearts. So, dear Christian, how are you doing? If it seems as though you’re not salty enough, what are you waiting for?
The fountain of living water awaits.
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. (Matthew 5:13)
“If this does not stir up the American people I don’t know what will!” I commented to my husband after the Muslim terrorist attack at Fort Hood last week. “Sweetheart” he said, “9-11 only briefly awakened the people.” As sad as the statement was the apathy that has followed is evidence of that truth. The day after 9-11 the American people rallied together in a spirit of unity but what has happened since that time? Even now, days after Major Nidal Malik Hasan gunned down and murdered 13 American soldiers in the name of Allah the news reporters are still shunning away from words like terrorist and Muslim. No one will call a spade a spade, instead stating that his alleged faith might have triggered the attack. Might have? Are we so blind to the obvious truth? Have we come so far that we can no longer recognize the enemy? Anyone who still believes that the Muslim religion is one of peace does so by willing ignorance. Not only do these people want all infidels dead, it is their commission to carry it out. But this nation founded upon Christian principles gladly shuts her eyes to this. We’ll just welcome them in, pay for their schooling, enlist them in the army and turn the other cheek when they murder the innocent. It doesn’t take a fool to recognize that the most effective way to defeat an enemy is to do so from within. I’m afraid that our nation’s godly heritage has been chipped away piece by piece, generation after generation. Is there any of the internal fortitude of our founding fathers left in this country? Will we ever again be able to recognize and defeat the enemy within? Or, will we continue down the same destructive path in the name of political correctness? The answer lies within God’s Holy Word. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2Ch 7:14) Perhaps before we can expect our nation to recognize the enemy within and do something about it; we as God’s people need to be able to. Our churches and our homes are filled with the enemy’s devices – sins, fallacies, and wickedness – all packaged so beautifully. Our churches have allowed false teachers because they tickle our ears. Sin abounds in the church because sin is pleasurable for a season. We have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. We welcome in unbelievers for the sake of church growth. We compromise truth for the sake of unity. Our churches are dying spiritually and have been relegated to the corner of society because they are powerless. The reason our churches are weak is because our families are weak. Not only are they weak but they are being destroyed one home at a time. We have welcomed in humanistic thinking to the point to where a Biblical worldview seems skewed. We open our minds up to the world’s filth via Hollywood hours each day. We ask sin to come into our homes, to abide with us and to fellowship with us and then wonder why our marriages and our children are being destroyed by the Enemy. We accept and live by the standards of the world, never once seeking God’s holy standards for our lives. Why is our nation in trouble? It is simply because God’s people are in trouble. We must humble ourselves. We must pray. We must seek God’s face. We must turn from our wicked ways. Then, and only then, will God heal our land. Otherwise, the enemy within will accomplish what it has set out to do – steal, kill, and destroy.
Kimberly Williams 