Be Like Salt

Hey team, all right—so here we are again.

I read this quote—I think it was yesterday. And I wanted to read it to you. I wanted to unpack it just for a second. I think it aligns a little bit with our core values. Anyway, I just want to share this with you because I found it very illuminating as I was thinking through it:

“Always have a unique character like salt.”

Like salt, right? Table salt. You get what I’m talking about. Its presence is not always felt, but its absence makes everything tasteless.

So be like salt—something that adds flavor, that adds encouragement, that brings out the life and the flavor of whatever it is you’re eating. What I love about that is that salt in itself is not something people want to just eat. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get super excited about taking a whole bunch of salt and chowing down on it. Or maybe when you were younger—or if you have children—you’ve had that little canker sore in your mouth, and someone says to put salt on it. It burns. But it’s there to purify.

Salt is used as a purification method, for curing meat. Many of us like ham, a good salted ham or salted pork. Back before refrigeration, we used salt for a lot of different things. It brings out the flavor and the taste in things. But by itself, it’s not very helpful. We wouldn’t just eat it alone. We wouldn’t want to. But it enhances the flavor of other things.

This little statement is saying you want to be like salt. You want to have a unique character like what salt is, because it enhances. Its presence brings something out. You want your presence to bring out the good. The flavor, so to speak—in others and in what you do. You also want people to notice when you’re not around. You want your character and who you are to be something that is missed when you’re not in the room.

I don’t know about you, but when I sit down for dinner or breakfast and start eating my eggs or something at dinner, I find myself saying, “Hey, could you pass the salt?” How many times have you been around the dinner table and said that? You want to enhance the flavor of your meal. You notice its absence. Salt brings out the flavor throughout the rest of the meal.

Be like that salt. Enhance the flavor of those around you and be missed. Let your character be missed in the room when you’re not present. Be someone people want around. Be the one they’re looking for on the table.

All right. God bless you guys. Have a wonderful rest of your week.

I don’t know if you’re enjoying this heat or not—if you’ve been experiencing the heat—but my boys have been absolutely enjoying the warmth, the sun, the swimming pool, the slip and slide, and all the different things that summer has to offer. I hope you and your family are enjoying it too.

Don’t forget—we’ve got barbecues coming up! So we might have ourselves some bubbles, some water balloons, some Nerf guns, some throwing axes—the safe kind, kid-friendly. And I think we’re going to have the big Jenga out. We usually have Windee and her family bring the big giant Jenga made of 2×4 blocks.

It’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be epic.

Bring your family. Bring your friends.

All right. God bless you. We’ll see you guys next week.