07.24.02

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. - Matthew 5:13.

A “norm” is defined as “a principle of right action binding upon the members of a group and serving to guide, control or regulate proper and acceptable behavior.” “Normal” in relation to “norm” is defined as “according to, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle.” Is the “norm” of today the same as the “norm” of 50 years ago? Or even ten years ago? What do we accept as “right action” today that would not have been regarded as “right action” in the past? Much of what passes for entertainment on television and in movies today would not have been considered “normal” in the past. The “norm” of the world I think we would agree has been in a steep decline over the last half century.

We have to wonder how much “flavor” has “the salt of the earth” lost? How close is the salt to being “good for nothing?” Our normalcy as believers must not be considered in relationship to the normalcy of the world. Our normalcy as believers must be understood in relationship to our Lord and Biblical principles.

The apostle Paul describes his personal normalcy in Philippians 3 and beginning in verse 7 he says, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him … that I may know Him … I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me … forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal … let us, as many as are mature, have this mind (the mind of Christ).”

According to the normalcy of the apostle Paul nothing in this world including money, homes, fame, lands, treasure, careers or anything else should take priority over our focus upon Jesus. Everything that distracts from our having the mind of Christ should be discarded and counted as being worse than garbage.

So, is our normal the normal of the world or the normal of the Christian life? Do we have the mind of the world or the mind of Christ? Are we the “salt of the earth” or have we lost our “flavor?” Are we preserving the world from a further downward slide by the way we live our lives or are we contributing to its decline? Let us commit ourselves to having the “mind” of Christ and living the “normal” Christian life.