May 18, 2016

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

I am not quite sure why, but I was thinking recently about when each of my girls were little, and they got chewing gum stuck in their hair. It happened to both of them on a few occasions. They both of my daughters inherited that thick Portuguese hair from my husband's side of the family, so getting gum out of it was always hard.

Those memories started me thinking about the properties of chewing gum of all things. It is so sticky and messy, and I think we can learn some lessons from it.

DON'T GET STUCK

I can remember times for each of my daughters where I ended up having to cut the gum out of their hair. I had tried everything they say to do—the ice and other things. That didn't work with that thick hair for either of them so finally I had to resort to cutting that gum out of their hair.

Sometimes we get stuck in our spiritual walk. We have times where we just get in a rut. We kind of get stalled and it seems like nothing is going to work to fix it. We may not be spending time in God's Word, or we may be reading our Bible on a regular basis, but we aren't getting anything out of it.

It's then we need to look around and see what is getting us stuck. Is there something holding us back in our walk with the Lord? Is there unconfessed sin? Is there something we haven't been obedient about? Is it our attitude that needs adjusting?

I think when we get like that, we just need to put whatever is slowing us down aside and get back to enjoying our time with the Lord. We must actively pray and seek God's face. We can't stay stuck, or we will never accomplish anything for Christ. We must just pry ourselves up and keep on moving.

When I'm stuck, I find that if I start looking outward and meeting the needs of others it helps tremendously in prying me loose.

DON'T LOSE YOUR FLAVOR

Gum is only tasty those first few seconds that you put it in your mouth. It loses its flavor really quickly.

How about you? Do you feel like life has chewed you up and made you lose your desire to serve the Lord?

Infuse some flavor into your life by getting back to walking and talking with the One who can sustain you. Read your Bible more. Pray more. Draw closer to the Lord and allow Him to encourage you and breathe new life into you.

We must make a difference in this world. Remember what Jesus said about being the salt of the earth in Matthew 5:13.

...but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?..

DON'T POP

Have you ever been going along in your walk with the Lord and suddenly someone or outside forces brings you down? The air goes out and you deflate.

I've had that happen to me and it can really bring you low. I think that's when we must learn to keep our eyes on eternal values. We can't allow other people or circumstances to pop our bubbles. We must just keep on doing what we know is right and serving the Lord to the best of our ability.

We can also pop when we get too busy with life and forget to slow down. There is so much wisdom in that old phrase, learn to take life one day at a time.

DON'T BE DISTRACTING

Gum in someone's mouth can be the most distracting thing. It can annoy us. It can throw us off focus.

How about us? Are we living in such a way that we distract the cause of Christ? Do we bicker, gossip, and act unbecoming as a Christian?

Don't be a stumbling block for others to reject Christ or for other Christians to falter in their Christian life.

We must keep our attitudes in check. We must keep our tongues in check. We must show the love of Christ.

DON'T GET STUCK TO THE BOTTOM OF SOMEONE'S SHOE

Recently I got out of the car at Walmart and stepped in some gum. It was a little warm and that gum stuck to my shoe big time. I tried wiping it off by rubbing my foot in the little grassy area by the car and scraping my shoe on the cement, but it just wouldn't come off.

As I went on my way my foot kept sticking to the floor everywhere I went. I have to tell you that that sticky gum put me in a bad mood. I hate going to Walmart anyway, but I just needed a couple things, so I stopped there while I was out running errands.

By the time I left I was pretty cranky and out of sorts.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, I realized that I had just let a little wad of gum spoil my day and cause my whole outlook to change. I was in such a good mood when I pulled into the parking space.

I had allowed that insignificant sticky gum on the bottom of my shoe to determine the direction for my day—that direction being a pretty miserable attitude.

I know I need to not allow circumstances or other people to control how I act. That day with the gum on my shoe, I had to stop right there and ask the Lord to forgive me and my attitude.

I think when we become that person with the bad attitude and the grumbling spirit; we end up being the gum stuck to someone else’s shoe. We start annoying them. We start being the thing that makes other people cranky and out of sorts.

DON'T BECOME UGLY

Chewing gum comes out of the package all fresh and new. It looks nice. It smells nice. Look what happens when it gets chewed though. Chewed gum is just plain ugly.

It actually becomes little wads of ugly. We have the potential to become little wads of ugly too. As Christians, we must continually allow the filling of the Holy Spirit and be sensitive to God's leading or we will become dried out, ugly, and stuck to the bottom of a chair somewhere.

Don't you love being around new Christians? They are full of life and eager to learn and serve the Lord. They are fresh and new and just out of the package.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope I can avoid some of the pitfalls of being gummed up in my life. I don't want someone to look under a desk someday and find me in a wad, dried out, and stuck fast. I know I need to start by drawing closer to the Lord. I must pray more and stay in His Word more.

Ever soaked a jar to remove a stuck label? That is what soaking in God's Word can do for us. It can break us free.

God's Word is like that Goo Be Gone stuff. It has the power to release us. It can help scrape us off the ledge. It has the power to move us and get us unstuck.

When we are stuck and gummed up it clogs up the wheels of the cause of Christ. I want my life to count for the Lord. I want to make a difference. In order to do that I have to remember that the Christian life is all about being that salt and light of the earth.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

So, are you all gummed up?

Copyright ©2016 Julia Bettencourt

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