It was a Memphis Redbirds Fourth of July game and celebration. That's how I spent Independence Day.
It was a super fun night with my family, but I sure do miss my Dad being there with us.
The last time that we were at a game together, I couldn't wait to watch the game and eat a giant pretzel. Just so I wouldn’t look like a pig, I waited until the third inning before we got up to go and get one.
At the concession stand, it was in the glass warmer covered with so much salt that it looked white! I pointed it out to my Dad, “Would you look at that! I’ve never seen that much salt on one before!”
I ordered a Coke and a pretzel, and I took a bite out of it before I even looked at it. But, something wasn't right.
There in my hand was a plain pretzel with not a single grain of salt. It may as well have been a leather shoe!
What a disappointment.
At least she handed me a cup of cheese to go with it so I have something to drown it in. And yes, I ate the whole thing, but only because I had paid dearly for it.
Did you know that there is a reason that salt is mentioned so much in the Word of God?
It is an amazing mineral, so desired that nations have been driven to war in the past over it.
It preserves, flavors, heals, and even cleans.
There are so many uses for such a tiny thing.
In Leviticus 2:13, Moses is giving direction from the Lord to the Israelites concerning offerings given to God. He says, “...with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” He tells them not to give a grain offering that has not been salted.
Now that I have tasted that horrible plain pretzel, I can almost say that I understand why! But, there is a deeper meaning.
You see, the offering given with salt was covered in something that cleaned, healed, preserved, and flavored. It was not tasteless and unappealing.
It was a prepared offering.
So many times, we as Christians are guilty of giving to the Lord an offering that is undesirable to Him.
The last dollar in your wallet, the loose change in the bottom of your purse, the lazy-eyed prayer at the end of the day, the five minute “scripture cram” before Sunday school, the half-hearted amen at the best part of the sermon, and even our thanks at the dinner table lacks the salt we’ve been asked to flavor our “offerings” with.
I do not doubt that it leaves God with a taste in his mouth as bad as a dry pretzel!
An offering is and should be a sacrifice to us as well. It should cost us something. It’s easy to give what you don't want, but harder to give what you want to keep.
Sacrificial giving is exactly what it says it is. It is a sacrifice.
Let your giving be seasoned with the salt of hard work, your prayers be seasoned with the salt of tears, your "Amen" be seasoned with the salt of praise, and your thanks be seasoned with the salt of gratefulness.
The next time you pick up a salt shaker, I hope that this comes to mind, and I pray that in every sacrifice, you do as according to the Lord, and “do it with salt,” for if not, “It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13.
Dawn Hayes is mother of 4, grandmother to 3 and she and her husband pastor at New Hope Assembly of God in Senatobia. She has been writing “Sips from the Well” since 2015.
