but if the salt has become tasteless,
how will it be made salty again?
It is good for nothing anymore,
except to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot by men. - Matthew 5: 13
Jesus calls His committed followers “the salt of the Earth.” He wants His followers to be distinctive and pleasant in conversation and behavior like well-seasoned food is to our taste. On the other hand, “salting” of meat by adding excess salt preserves the meat by killing the microbes that would otherwise cause spoiling. When Christ-followers take a firm stand against immoral or unethical claims or actions, they are acting to preserve our culture against decay.
Jesus’s pronouncement also comes with a stern warning. Christ-followers who allow their faith to be compromised and become lukewarm will become tasteless and their preserving witness in the culture will be dulled. Like salt that is contaminated with impurities, a compromised Christian’s witness is “good for nothing anymore.” It has become tasteless and of no value in preservation against cultural decline.
According to unconfirmed sources, after the Romans conquered Carthage during the Third Punic War (149–146 BCE), they plowed excess salt into the fields of Carthage to curse their soils and prevent future settlement. (Excess salt disrupts the ability of most plants to absorb water.) The very substance that can add a pleasant savor can also be a destructive agent, even a curse, to human dialog and relationships when we become careless with our words and behavior. And, there are plenty of issues in our culture that can cause us to be defensive and divided.
Listed below are a few of the major issues over which America is currently divided. One glance at this list and you may agree that any one of these issues is ripe for disagreement and debate. Admittedly, we have been guilty on several occasions of responding to others carelessly or even harshly in disagreements. We were “over-salting of the soil” which otherwise might have produced a crop of good will and understanding for the glory of God. If we can agree that it is virtuous to try to avoid verbal conflict in favor of respectful dialog, how can we acquire this virtue?
In our culture, it is virtually impossible to develop and sustain a close relationship with anyone without encountering differences of opinion. Therefore, our challenge is to avoid alienating others with whom we disagree, especially when we believe our position is the right one. What follows are considerations we are trying to implement in conversations involving controversial issues; and, we welcome reader insights. To illustrate, suppose you and a friend have just received a news report of a tragic murder in Kentucky allegedly committed by an illegal migrant. [See brief summary below, and read more HERE.]
After reading the report of this murder, what thoughts and emotions does it stir in you? How would you need to discipline yourself to foster a rational and polite discussion with someone else who might have a different social and political viewpoint? Of course, before entering a conversation about a sensitive issue with another person, we would hope there is at least some degree of personal acquaintance. With that being said, here are some considerations which are rooted in the foundation we presented in “Winsome Witness,” Part 1 [Click HERE.]:
1. Guard Your Heart: Before speaking, we should ask ourselves, “What is my purpose in entering into a conversation that will be charged with moral and political implications? Is it my goal simply to win a debate and gain power or prestige? Or, instead, will I aim for understanding and peace, led by the Spirit of Christ, the Prince of Peace?
2. Watch Your Tongue; Open Your Ears: If our spirit and our intentions are aligned with God’s Spirit, then our tongues will follow; for our mouth speaks from that which fills the heart (Luke 6: 45).
3. Establish Mutual Respect: Mutual respect is essential for all enduring relationships. As mutual respect grows, we can be less restrained in dealing with potentially controversial topics. Once a respectful dialog is established, it is likely that a thoughtful analysis of the issue will follow. There is a good chance of either reaching agreement; or if necessary, politely agreeing to disagree.
4. Recognize Differences in Worldview: Disagreements often point to differences in our worldview. Our worldview is an internally coherent and consistent framework or lens through which we can view, understand, and relate to the world around us. [Read more HERE.] If our worldviews differ, we may each be offering the other a perfectly logical train of reasoning but our starting points, or our “lenses” through which we view the world, are very different. Here again, we may need to agree to disagree based on mutual respect.
5. Analyze the Issue Carefully: We may each react differently to an event like the murder of 15-year-old Luis Lopez. First, there is the fact that this teen was murdered while defending his mother from an assault by an illegal migrant. But there may be differences in how the news media report the event, and how we respond to this news. Some of us will be influenced more emotionally, while others will take a more analytical approach. Then, we must factor in our worldview, past experiences, political affiliation, philosophy of governance, and views on the importance of the nuclear family, moral upbringing, law and order, and due process of law.
Given the potentially controversial nature of the issues surrounding the murder of Luis Lopez, it is an example of how we might apply the above five considerations to establish a polite and constructive conversation. Table 2 below offers conversation points we might use to discuss issues relating to this murder case in the context of “Immigration Policy and Citizenship” noted in Table 1. We hope this table will be useful and be applicable when we have occasion to discuss other issues that can so easily divide relationships and our country.
Salt, Mediators, and Peacemakers
We began this blog by asking how a Christ-follower can be a pleasant savor in his or her culture while also providing a moral conscience in the midst of cultural decline. We believe the answer to both is to radiate the sweetness of character and winsome behavior of Christ. This means that rather than simply winning arguments we must aim toward winning souls for Christ. Jesus came as God in human form and became a servant even to the point of death on a Roman cross. Then, He rose again to sit at the right hand of God and now serves as our Savior and Mediator between a Holy God and sinful humankind. When we confess our sin and surrender our lives to Christ, He serves as our Mediator and settles the debt caused by our sins against God. We become one in Him when we are baptized into Him as Romans 6: 3-4 states.
Being made one with Christ and being Spirit-filled ought to inspire us to be mediators and peacemakers. Michael Zeytoonian, Director of the Dispute Resolution Counsel, relates conflict resolution to the role of Christ as our Mediator when he writes:
All of this sounds good. But is it possible in our divided nation and world? The Scriptures do not gloss over the difficulty we will face. Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5: 9-10). Just a few verses after this statement (v. 13), Jesus said to His followers, “you are the salt of the Earth. He made both claims in the context of a troubled world about which He later said, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16: 33).”
It is clear from the teachings of Jesus that our call to be “salt” is to produce a pleasant savor in our encounters with others, but not to expect we will receive a response in kind. We must be prepared for rejection of our witness for Christ, and even outright persecution as was experienced by the prophets (Matthew 5: 11-12). Today, many Christ-followers, some of whom we know, are suffering dearly for their faith. Our prayer as we close is that our persecuted brethren and all of us who love Jesus Christ will find comfort in the balanced teaching of the Apostle Peter:
Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But
even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND
DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but
sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in
you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that
in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in
Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so,
that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is
wrong. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just
for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to
death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; - 1 Peter
3: 13-18
Questions to Readers:
What do you find most difficult when you are having a conversation that approaches a controversial topic? What advice can you offer based on your experience? Please use the "Comment" link below or e-mail to silviusj@gmail.com
