"Ye are the salt of the earth:
but if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be salted?
It is therefore good  for nothing,
but to be cast out,
and to be trodden under  foot of men."
- Matthew 5:13

I never realized just how different it can really be.

For many months I have struggled with high blood  pressure, also known as hypertension.  The problem  started about 18 months ago when I began taking medication for a valve irregularity in my heart.  The  medicine fixed the valve problem...

...but created a new problem as my blood pressure  skyrocketed.

Thankfully, the Lord is at work in that area as well and  we now have the high blood pressure somewhat under  control.

One of the suggestions that I was given was to reduce  my salt intake.  In some studies, Sodium (which is a major  contributor to common table salt) has been shown to  greatly influence blood pressure.  Therefore,  reducing the amount of salt in my diet could eliminate some of the risk  factors associated with hypertension.

Of course, I like the way salt flavors my food.  Who  doesn't?  Since I needed to reduce my salt intake, I was  advised to try a salt substitute.  Which I did, but...

...it just wasn't the same.

Now, did it flavor the food?  Sure.  The salt substitute got the job done, but it didn't leave the kind of taste in my  mouth that it should have. It wasn't anything you could  really say was wrong...

...it just wasn't what it was supposed to be.

I'm sick of salt substitutes.  I want the real thing!

Christian, the Lord Jesus has called us to be the salt of the earth.  That's right, we're to flavor the world with the  Gospel.  More specifically, we're to flavor our walkway  with the Gospel.  For everyone we meet each day ---our family members, friends, church family, neighbors, co-workers, the clerk at the grocery store, strangers we stand  next to at Wal-Mart ---for everyone we meet each day we  are to sprinkle a little salt into their lives.

Maybe it's a word of encouragement.  Maybe it's a sack  of groceries for the needy. Or, perhaps it's a presentation  of the Good News.  It might just be a display of joy and  peace in our lives as we struggle through a hardship. Honesty, integrity, generosity, kindness, unselfishness

...these are also the flavors of our salt. We're  to be salty, my friends!

But, guess what?  Satan wants us to use a substitute  instead.  Yep.  It's true.  As the Lord Jesus is instructing us  to sprinkle our salt, the devil is calling for something less  than our best.  He wants us to think that we can just walk through life without ever really presenting the Gospel to  others...someone else will do it, right?  He wants us to  think that not saying something discouraging is as good as  saying something encouraging.  He's the father of lies, remember?    Satan tries to convince us that as long as  we're not dishonest, stingy, rude and self-centered that  this is as good as being honest, generous, kind and giving.   It's a substitute, my friends!  

Not being bad isn't the same as being good!

Now, a salt substitute will flavor the lives of others,  that's true.  But it won't leave the kind of taste in their lives  that it should.  Why?  Because it's just not what it's  supposed to be.

And I believe God is sick of salt substitutes.  He wants the real thing!

What about it, Christian?  How salty are you?  Have  you been substituting something for the real thing -  something less than your best?

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!