Societal Engagement: Being Salt

By Boyet Ongkiko

Printed at the May 2011 issue of the Evangelicals Today 

“Papa, who invented war?” asked my 9-year old son Jayjay. Not expecting such a question, I then gave him a litany of historical accounts of how wars started – of how most wars were actually “resource-based” more than “ideologically-based”.  He kept on nodding as I prod along. I am not so sure though if I satisfied him with my answer when he left. Whew! Then a thought dawned on me – certainly God invented peace.

Peace is not just the absence of war but as having the fullness of life as initiated by Jesus: that peace where everyone lives with respect and dignity as a human being, and able to contribute significantly to its community. Peace that manifests in the dynamic interdependence of every person in the community, even as the same community is interdependent with the rest of the community of communities.

While we are still far from this vision of peace, the church is called as God’s agent of peace. Like salt, the church is meant to delay, if not set free, the world from its decay. How much salt do we need for a kilo of meat? One kilo? Half a kilo or one-fourth kilo? Nah, all we need is 3% or 30gms for every kilo of meat! The bible-believing and God-loving faithful followers comprise more than 10% of our society and yet it seems instead our nation continues to decay. And when the meat continues to rot, there must be something wrong with the salt – or at least in the way the salt has been applied.

Salt is meant to be out of the Saltshaker

Perhaps the church has kept herself isolated in the four corners – preferring a spirituality that revolves primarily around church programs, traditions and activities. Hence a typical family would find its members scattered in all the age levels – where the youth usually is busy with “music and worship” related ministry; the mothers are kept busy during events as the MARTHAS who see to it that everybody is not without food to eat; performing to the delight of the camera-frenzy crowd are the children who mimic the latest music video of Kids Praise; and the men serving mostly as gatekeepers who decide on what is acceptable given their theology, culture, and tradition as a church.

At best the “church-gathered” is able to extend “pockets” of peace through its annual gift-giving in a slum community during Christmas, medical mission programs in a rural community and occasional relief work during calamities. But other than these programs, the majority of time, resources and energy are spent mostly for their own. There is an appearance of peace inside the church as every one seems comfortably settled with the way things are year in and year out. However, the “church-scattered” are left on their own, unengaged with their community, and instead wishing and hoping for the next “church-gathering” opportunity.

Out of the Saltshaker but only to a few?

One barangay, which was hit by mudflows of Mayon, found hope when news of coming relief is on its way. And so early that day, the people organized themselves and lined-up as they usually do – being “veterans” of natural calamities. As anticipated the organization arrived with a truck-load of relief items. However, their compassion was to a selected few as they asked their “beneficiaries” to form another line.   The organization handed them relief goods in the midst of stares from majority of those who are as devastated as they were. Sadly, while natural calamities are often referred to as an “act of God”, this approach to relief distribution is often the “act of the church”.  

Salt is meant to be scattered

Whenever our presence brings blessings to a selected few and at the same time heightens the hopelessness of the majority, I feel that an overhaul is needed in our faith. For at the core of loving God is to love our neighbors as we would ourselves. Using the lens of communal faith, “ourselves” would refer to the local-faith community, and “our neighbors” to the rest of the local community. Certainly Jesus’ dictum “to love your neighbor as yourself” was written that way to set OTHERS as the priority over SELF. This is sacrificial love which Jesus demonstrated many times. Consider these two examples:

• The disciples of Jesus. Jesus, after prayer and breaking the bread and fish, instructed his disciples to distribute the meager food to the people. At this point, the disciples had no idea that what they have would be enough for such a great crowd, more so have such an excess! And yet the disciples obeyed, and sought the welfare of others before their own. For as the disciples moved (and scattered themselves!) among the sea of men, women and children, carrying only 12 baskets of bread and fish, their load never got lighter – it remained as heavy (perhaps even heavier!) as when they left Jesus. In doing so, they witnessed the unfolding of a miracle – 5,000 men ate and had their fill (not counting the women and children which could easily reach a total of 15,000!).

• The Macedonian Church. Christians in Macedonia were particularly poor and had experienced some kind of relentless trial. Yet upon knowing of the famine in Jerusalem, saw that as an opportunity to help. They who have more reasons to beg, sought the welfare of others first than their own, and release the little yet significant resource that they have.

Abundance or Scarcity of salt

There are three ways of giving – surplus, contentment and sacrificial.  When we give out of our surplus – that which our hands can no longer hold – in effect we are saying, “I have more than enough; now you can have what I don’t need.”  And when we give out of our contentment – that which our hands prefer to hold – we say to the other, “I can live with a few; here take some from what I need”. However, when we give sacrificially – perhaps even the little that our hands can hold – we declare to the other, “Your needs first before mine.”

Surplus is never a prerequisite to be a blessing –Selflessness is. And the key to selflessness is for us to preoccupy ourselves with the power and presence of Jesus Christ.  

When we actively seek out the welfare of others before ours, we enter into the spiritual realm – into the territory of God – and in a sense “challenge” him according to His rule. We get in a “competition” with God in the game – “Who out-blesses the other”. The more we become a blessing to others; the more God is “compelled” to out-bless us. You see in this game, God is always the winner. Just as He did for his son, when Jesus gave his life for others (us), that God blessed and exalted him. Lived as a servant – now reigning as King!

And that explains the surplus of the disciples and the commendation the Macedonian church received – the power and presence of Jesus manifest!

Never lose your saltiness

Last May 21 was supposed to be “Judgment day” – the End of the world according to Harold Camping of Family Radio Network. While there was no one who openly expressed disappointment, many were quick to pass judgment on the group who perpetuated such belief. From harsh words of rebuke to sarcastic remarks, the many was like a symphony – united and in harmony – in disapproval over such reckless claim. But when I reflected on this, I can not help but see a similarity with this group and the majority of the so called faith community.  Isn’t it possible that when we have chosen to live out a spirituality in the confines of church programs & within its four walls, we essentially identified ourselves with those who prophesy of a "known" judgment day? That though we have not made such claim of “KNOWING THE DAY”, we nevertheless lived most of our lives in isolation and prefer significant engagements with our selected HEAVENLY COMMUNITIES? At least these people have been honest in openly abandoning our world with their declaration. 

Until we see that our purpose as salt is to significantly engaged society towards God’s agenda of peace, we can not point fingers to the doomsayers. And until we see that despite our poverty, we have so much to give and be a blessing to our communities, God’s invention of peace, will continue to linger.

The pattern has been laid before us. Jesus – emptied himself – was God who became a mere man; and gave his life for us. We are now God’s agents of peace and the church is being called to empty herself and give her life for her community.  We can not wait for surpluses to come before we can be a blessing. Nor can we draw a line to define our contentment level. Sacrifice is God’s language then for the world through Jesus – and Sacrifice remains God’s language for our nation now through Jesus’ bride – the Church.