On Salt and Yeast

In many of the churches I’ve attended, there seems to be an utter fear of culture. Specifically, a fear of being in the minority. The fact that culture is often running contrary to our “traditional” beliefs scares some people immensely.


But when we read through scripture, it didn’t seem to bother Jesus. In fact, he seemed to expect that outcome.


We know this because Jesus compares us to both salt and to yeast. I’m no master chef, but what I do know is that when you’re cooking, a little bit of salt and a little bit of yeast go a LONG way. Salt when well mixed adds flavor and depth to the recipe. Yeast makes bread rise to give it the texture that we expect from bread. But often a teaspoon or less of each of these will do the trick. It doesn’t take much salt or much yeast to get the desired outcome.


God doesn’t compare his church to flour or sugar or water in these examples. If God was interested in us being the strong majority, I think he would’ve picked a different ingredient.


We are the underdogs. We will always be counter cultural. We’ll never be the flour. We will always be the salt. And it just takes a little salt mixed in to make a big difference.