"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase"
1 Corinthians 3:6
A Message From the Horne of Africa
A SALINE SOLUTION
02/22/2009
Do you like salt? Please don't take this with a pinch of salt, but this really did happen. Some years ago, I was in South Africa; Donna was in Texas taking care of her mother. Guests in my home were a fine missionary family from Cape Town. I also invited my fellow missionaries, the Hoggs, to join us for dinner that evening. I was whipping the potatoes in the kitchen (they hadn't been unruly--just the thing you do to potatoes). All went well--the butter, the milk had all been added and the mixer was whirling around in top gear. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and smooth. Only one ingredient left to add--the salt. As I tilted the salt container over the buzzing mixer, the lid came off and the entire contents of the box plunged into the potatoes! By the time I got the mixer turned off, the salt was mostly blended in the mix. Even the box lid was a little "beaten up." I tried to extract as much salt as I could. It looked edible. Then I tasted it. Yuch! It was "salt" with a touch of potato. Too much of a good thing spells disaster. I could probably have saved the potatoes by adding 200 lbs of potatoes and gallons of milk and tons of butter. But that was not a viable solution. Some wily guest suggested adding a cup of sugar would lessen the "saltiness of the mixture." Don't pass that on to Heloise--it only made the mixture even more unfit for human consumption, One sympathetic sister said, "It looks real good, let me taste it!" Big mistake. Her contorted face showed it. The dog refused the mixture. Only the trash can accepted it without reservation! Luckily, the other food saved the evening, but my guests remind me periodically of my salty days.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his disciples that they [we] are "the salt of the earth," Matthew 5:13. Salt is, without a doubt, one of the best preservers known to man. Salt, as a seasoning, adds flavor to food, Job 6:6. Using those concepts figuratively, Paul says our language must be full of grace, "seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone," Colossians 4:6. The best way to add grace and salt to our daily speech is to share the life-saving word with "outsiders," Colossians 4:5. It preserves and it adds flavor. That is the ultimate "saline solution." (Of course, a doctor thinks of a saline solution as a mixture in an IV tube, but we are talking metaphorically here. He is also bound to tell us that too much salt is not good for our blood pressure).
In ancient times, salt was a very valuable commodity. It formed a part of Old Testament offerings, Leviticus 2:13; Ezra 6:9. There was even a "covenant of salt," Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5. In the 12th Century, salt was sold for its weight in gold. It was used as a financial medium of exchange--it formed part of a worker's pay, Ezra 4:14. The word "salary" comes from "the salt allowance" paid to the worker. A diligent worker is still said to be "worth his salt."
Superstition is linked to the spilling of salt. That, too, was connected to its being perceived as so valuable. To keep careless users from wasting it, they were told bad luck ensues "spilling it." Lot's wife used it inappropriately and look what happened to her, Genesis 19:26. Ha! She must have been preserved for a long time in that state.
The uses of salt are so numerous, they would be beyond the scope of this article. Salt experts, for example, say that salt repels fleas (in the dog house), makes ants move out (of your house) and makes snails blow up (in your garden). However, salt can be leached and so loose its flavor. Jesus warned against that. It is then worthless and has to be thrown out, Matthew 5:13.
We are, therefore, God's saline solution--the salt of the earth--to flavor, preserve and add value to life. So, let's not forget our purpose, thereby losing our "saltiness." And remember, salt that remains in the salt-shaker, doesn't do the world any good at all. So let's get out there and share the message of Christ with a flavorless world. Well, now, as for me--it's back to the salt mines."
Love you all,
Al--"the Horne of Africa."