A few months ago as I was having a meeting with my boss he told me that I was being promoted to a senior position at my job. Of course I was excited about the opportunity but it was what he said to me next that I was really happy about…and to this day it was the best compliment I have ever received and also one of the most difficult to live up to. My boss told me that I “was salt in the earth.” I don’t know if he really meant it but it is a compliment that bears a lot of weight.. It is a personal motto, mission, anthem…everything. Trying to live up to that is my life’s goal.

I have given much thought to what it means to be salt, particularly in the Christian context. Salt is a game changer. It is the one ingredient that when mixed with food, always holds its own. So it is with you and me. God has called us to be salt, distinct & different, never blending in(Matthew 5:13). I believe this is what he did in 1 Kings 19:18. Elijah, had already been living for God and after he killed all the people that worshipped the false God Baal he thought he was the only one left that truly loved God. God told Elijah that he was mistaken, he had 7,000 people in Israel that had not bowed to Baal and were still worshipping him. I believe that is what God has called us to be…that remnant of people that still want to live for and follow God despite what this world is doing. This is what salt is made of.  The people who don’t want to conform to this world and its ever changing standard. It’s the people that still love God and want to live for him wholeheartedly.

We have to be Salt to this world because we have to be those people that live their life differently from everybody else. The person that prays about every decision. The person that responds to hurtful situations calmly. The person that tithes consistently. The person that is willing to suffer for the cause of Christ. That is the person that God is keeping as a remnant for himself. As Salt in this world, we need to be the one that God can trust to live for him and represent the kingdom well.

Almost a year ago a coworker and I were at a restaurant for lunch. We had just been seated and as we began to order something happened between my coworker and the waiter. I don’t know if it was the way he responded to her question that started it or if it was the way she asked the question that offended him. Either way, it was the beginning of the end.  Shortly thereafter, we got a new server and the manager went out of her way to make the situation right…But it didn’t matter. It was already too late. My coworker was done. The waiter ruined her experience and as a result it colored her opinion of the restaurant.   Almost a year later she has never returned to that place.

The dictionary defines ruin as causing great and usually irreparable damage and harm. Irreparable is a serious term… as in you can’t fix it. How many times have we done this with our witness? Either by doing or saying something that compromised the Christian values we profess to hold dear.  How many times have we been the server and colored someone else’s perspective of God in a negative way?  We preach Jesus loud so people know we follow him and then those same people see us act like we don’t know him.  Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

In this present day our crowd of people are our friends, coworkers, family etc. and really anybody we know that’s not saved. This verse says that we should remove EVERY weight…meaning any and everything that could deter us from following Christ wholeheartedly and ruin our witness. I believe God said EVERY weight because there is nothing that is more important than our witness. That is the very thing God put us here to do. Actually, that’s the only thing. Whatever bad habits were holding on to, be it cursing people out, laziness, gossiping, lack of discipline, saying or doing things you shouldn’t… whatever it is, it’s time to let it go. When we take our eyes off Jesus and fall into sin we cannot direct people to him. You can’t tell people to follow someone that you’re not. You are either drawing people to Jesus or you’re leading them away.

I was doing my bible study homework and I came across this question... “Who in your life is God calling to faith in him through your witness?”

Hey guys It has been awhile so I’m glad to be blogging again…I just got back from Hawaii, specifically Honolulu & Maui. Let me tell you that it was amazing!!! Seriously, the vacation to rival all others.  Hawaii was breathtakingly beautiful and came at just the perfect time. I had been looking forward to it and really praying that God would meet me there in the beauty of it all… That said, I want to share 4 things that I learned from the Four Seasons!

1.       Operate in a spirit of excellence- Dare to be different. Most things in this world are mediocre. Be excellent at whatever it is that God has called you to do.  When I was at the Four Seasons the level of attention that they gave to each and every customer was remarkable. Never hesitating to go the extra mile. If I needed directions as to how to get somewhere, instead of pointing, I was escorted. I traveled to Mt. Haleakala at 3:00am and needed the car that I rented from the parking garage and they had it out front promptly at 3:00am. Whatever the standard was they met and exceeded my expectations every time. Be more than people expect because that is who God is. He never disappoints.

2.       Trust God to fight your battles. In every situation. No matter how small. While there my friends and I went to the serenity pool, they have a very few select chairs that are not reserved that you can get in line to get. The pool opens at 7:00am and I got in line at the pool just before 6:00am. Well when they opened the gate to let us in I chose a section of seats that were not available to us because they had been reserved. By the time I realized where I could actually sit the seats I wanted were gone. Disappointed, I spoke with the manager who told me they would try to find a place for the 3 us. I prayed quietly and just told God that I was not happy about the situation but that I knew he would handle it. About an hour later they came over and gave us a very expensive cabana for free for our trouble. My point?-  God always comes to our rescue when we ask. No battle is too big or small. Everything is small to him anyway so cast all your cares on God. He gets better results than you ever would.

3.       Know your worth and charge a premium. The Four Seasons is by no means cheap lol… However, the quality of your experience at that hotel is second to none. When you deliver excellence ALL the time, EVERY time you can charge what you’re worth. My service was so superb that I have no issue paying the price they ask for because I know it’s worth it. Make sure that the people you are in relationships with know your worth and treat you as such. People who want what you bring to the table will be happy to pay the cost

4.       Be kind. Always. I must have talked to 70 people at the Four Seasons. All of them were polite and friendly. I never once saw a person and thought they were having a bad day. Imagine if everyone was like that at church. People would want to come, just like I can’t wait to get back to the Four Seasons. As Christians we should wear kindness like glitter, everybody who comes into contact with us should be touched by it and it should show. It should be like it was at the Four Seasons. Everyone should know were Christians by our kind disposition. The glitter of God should be all over us.