Sweet and Salty - a mix? Of course - where there's sweet, there's GOTTA be salty! But what about sin and the saints, the culture and the Christ...not a good mix - or is it?? "Sex and the City," the blockbuster movie/TV show attracting "sweet" attention these days, is a telltale sign of trouble in the land - and it's but the tip of the iceberg! Immodesty, immorality, indifference to sin - iniquity - abounds in our sour society today. The world calls it "sweet" - sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah to me.....or would you prefer the Great Flood and Noah's Day? We live not in world so sweet, but in a sewer so sour - filth, faithlessness, promiscuity, perversion and vice.
And what to do? How to survive? Let's explore the options and discover real wisdom according to God's worldview!
(1) Sneak a peek back and turn into a pillar!?! Not good! Surely you remember the story of Lot's wife, pining for the sins of Sodom, looking back and becoming a pillar of salt. Whining for the world's pleasures is dangerous.....it's artifical sweetener, not joy! Lord, help us to fix our eyes on You, the source of real pleasure and joy - and Your Word, sweetness to our souls. May we never look back to the pit from whence we came. We're sinners saved by grace; let's live like it!!
(2) Stay in the salt shaker where it's safe?!?! No way! Surely you remember the words of our Savior, "You are the salt of the earth...." Now if we STAY in the closed environment of a Christian vacuum, safe - and STALE - we will become. Positioning ourselves IN the world, in the full armor of God, "standing tall in the face of evil," is God's way to proclaim righteousness in the city, right living in the world. Not indulgence but infiltration into the fields of evil, equipped as a believer to battle the enemy on his ground and in the might of God. Salt shakers doing war in the ungodly world - sounds like a Hollywood futuristic movie - but it's real life, living in a real world for a real God. Better than staying stale in the shaker, for sure!
(3) Salt the world with His saving grace!?! Good choice! Let the Savior enhance the flavor and pour out the salt to a needy world! The essence of the Gospel - to believe, respond, receive and reach out, salting the city with the Savior's love, joy and peace wherever we go! How is salt made? I have no clue, but usually any valued product comes with a process - sometimes painful - but necessary to enhance that product into final form. May we allow Christ to make and form us into real saints and into the tasty and thirst-producing salt He desires that will touch our world with His grace.
Sin and the City...Sin and the Saints...can we survive? Yes, a thousand times yes, by His grace and power. But we can MORE than survive - we can thrive! Look around you and see the sin? Sure! But look BEYOND you - and see the Christ! He entered the culture 2,000 years ago and has never left. He enters that same culture through you and me right where we live. Salt shakers, stand tall; learn of Him within the sweet confines of a Christian environment - but then.....get ready to shake - into the city streets! You're a saint with a Savior - and alot of salt AND sweetness to share with your world until He comes!
Featured links - lots of them!
"S.E.X. Is a Four-letter Word...G-rated Living in an R-rated World!"
"Sex and the Pity" - a ThinkChristian article
Cities of the World . . . Google Earth Community: World Tour, 100 Major Cities
The Dead Sea - BiblePlaces.com . . .
Salt . . . Salt Mine (Wikipedia)
Sweet & Salty Pretzel Brownies Recipe . . . Sweet & Salty Snack Mix Recipe . . . HERSHEY'S Sweet & Salty granola bars
Sweet vs. Salty: Your food cravings may be determined by your sex (The Diet Channel)
Urban Discovery Ministries . . . Teen Challenge USA . . . Global Teen Challenge
Ravi Zacharias Ministries: "A Slice of Infinity" . . . Christianity and Culture (American Bible Society)
"A New Kind of Urban Christian" . . . "What Should We Do with This Thing Called Culture?" (Probe Ministries)
Relevant Magazine: "Covering God, Life and Progressive Culture"
Stand to Reason: Resources on Christianity & Culture . . . Stand to Reason blog: Christianity & Culture
BreakPoint with Charles Colson . . . "How Now Shall We Live?" . . . Books by Charles Colson
"Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues with Timeless Truth" - by Dr. Albert Mohler . . . Dr. Mohler's Web site
Al Menconi Resources . . . Preview Family Movie Review
Cybersalt Communications - Cyber-resources to add salt to your shaker!!
Saints on the Super Highway - A devo at Peggie's Place! . . . Evangelism Resources at Peggie's Place!
--Copyright 2008 by Peggie Bohanon, Springfield, MO.
