It started last week when my husband came into the house looking perturbed. He had just taken our dog, Truman, out to allow him to have his morning run. But much to Dan’s dismay…instead of watching him run…he found the dog rolling in a pile of poop. Isn’t that what you wanted to hear to start your week?
We had no choice but to give Truman a bath. It wasn’t what we had planned for that morning…and it surely wasn’t what I wanted to do during my recovery…but if we wanted to get near him again…a bath was greatly needed.
By the way, did you know the Bible talks about poop? OK…maybe they refer to it using a much “nicer” word…manure. But it’s all the same thing. Luke 14:34-35 says, “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” Aren’t these some of the strangest verses in the Bible? I wouldn’t even think of putting salt, flavorless or not, on poop (excuse me…manure)…so what in the world does this mean?
I started doing some research and as always, I found several different explanations for these verses. But there was one that sort of stuck in my warped mind…so naturally, that is the one I will share with you.
In these verses, Jesus was referring to his followers being like salt in the world and if we lose our “saltiness”, we’re not fit for even the manure pile. But for that to make sense, we need to know why salty salt is good on a manure pile and why unsalty salt isn’t. I have never bragged that I’m an expert on manure piles…so I had to do some investigating.
The explanation I found was that in Jesus’ day, people cooked over fires that used dried animal manure as fuel because deserts didn’t have a large supply of wood. The people learned that when they mixed salt with the manure, the salt caused a chemical reaction which made the fire burn brighter and hotter for longer. But after a while, this process broke down the salt, causing it to become unsalty, and so the chemical reaction with the manure stopped and the fire would go out.
Jesus used this illustration to get across to the people that they were supposed to be like salty salt, so that when they were mixed in with the “manure” of the world, they were able to cause God’s Word to burn brighter and hotter. In other words, their lives should be causing the “chemical reaction” so they would shine brightly for Him!
All I could think of as I read this explanation was… how hot is my manure pile? If how I am living my life determines how brightly I am shining for others who don’t know my Jesus…do they see Him in me or is my “fire” petering out? Have I lost my “saltiness” in the unsaved world around me…or am I making sure my life is kept “seasoned” by my close relationship with Jesus?
You’ve probably already guessed that I can’t end this without asking you the same question…how hot is your manure pile? Is it burning hotter and brighter because the “salt” of your life has been thrown in the mix? Or are your embers starting to go out?
I think we can all agree that we are living in a world that needs Jesus. If we aren’t shining brightly for Him…I’m doubtful that anyone will be too interested in our cold embers. Maybe we’ve been a little like Truman and we’ve been rolling around in the “manure” of the world instead of living for Christ. If so, we may need a good “bath” from Him…allowing Him to clean us anew from sins which have caused us to lose our saltiness.
Let’s make a point this week to throw ourselves into the “mix”, with our saltiness, so that those who are lost will be drawn to our flame. Time is short and there is a lost world that needs to see our light!
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