Silently Powerful

In the movies, most of the villains are typically not too easy on the eyes – actually, let’s call a spade a spade and not a big spoon – they look ugly. But when the plot involves infiltrating an organization to bring it down from the inside, they cast a gorgeous female to play the role. She uses her good looks and charming personality to gain their trust and favour, and eventually she manages to dismantle the seemingly untouchable organization from the inside out. I have encountered one such “gorgeous woman”. Her name is Ms. Ice Storm 2013. I have never seen such a gorgeous “villain”. Her destruction was as vast as her beauty was epic. Those who live in North America will remember her. Her icy fingers obsessively clung to everything she touched  – and she is a chubby gal! Most objects were unable to stand under her weight – and so eventually, the collective knees of many a tree, post and power line buckled under her voluptuous embrace. And before long, the stillness of the day was filled with sounds of breaking branches, tree trunks and posts. Dismayed homeowners watched in horror as their beloved decades old trees snapped and fell to the ground, destroying their homes, crashing their cars, compounding their grief. Downed power lines meant that power was lost in many homes; some for weeks. No power meant no food, no water and no heat – in the dead of winter. Our villain sure was hard at work. Sinisterly, she even managed to claim a few lives on account of car accidents and also from carbon monoxide poisoning as people resorted to keeping warm by turning on their bbqs inside the house.

Ms. Ice Storm was a prankster too. She layered all surfaces in an icy sheet, turning streets into ice rinks, making walking impossible. I remember we had to chisel our way into the car as she had sealed everything shut with her icy glue. After hours of painstaking chiseling, we finally managed to pry the car doors away from her possessive chilly embrace! Next it was time to tackle the driveway. We took a sharp object and hacked away at the large sheet of ice – trying to break it apart. But we might as well have been singing to it because all our efforts were in vain. The ice block did not budge. It held firmly onto the driveway, unyielding. Let me pause here and tell you about my husband…. While I think in straight lines, my husband’s thought process is more, hmmm, let’s just say ‘abstract’. We have had many a disagreement about it (read: I adamantly tell him his ideas are theories that just won’t work LOL – but oft-times he’s the one left laughing when his abstract ideas actually end up working out). So when he suggested we stop hacking away at the ice and instead sprinkle some salt on it, you best believe I wasn’t having any of it. Salt?? What were we doing there? Trying to break it apart or have it for dinner? But at that point I was frozen solid and had already slid and fallen on my rear end a couple of times – so needless to say, I was just over it; I was in an “I can’t even” state of mind with the whole process. So I went into the house and left him outside “seasoning” the ice.

The next morning. We stepped outside and were met by the same sheet of ice on the driveway. It was as solid as it was the day before. The salt particles still sat atop the ice, looking lazy and useless. I winked at them and smiled inwardly because those salty little guys were about to be my best allies in winning the argument and proving that I was right. “See! I told you! Your theory didn’t work. Salt only works for little portions of snow…not large sheets of ice.” “Pass me the shovel”, hubby said, obviously ignoring my gloating statements. “Shovel or the sharp tool?” “Shovel.” “Ok…. but you’re just wasting your time though…”. He ‘walked’ (read slid) to the end of the driveway and called me over, a smirk plastered all over his face. To my amazement, the seemingly ineffective salt had indeed done its work! While the top of the ice block looked intact and untouched, like a gorgeous movie villain, the sneaky unassuming salt particles had infiltrated the ice and managed to change its composition from the bottom up; from the inside out. It had managed to slightly melt the ice from the under side, separating it from the driveway just enough to create just the right amount of space that was needed to allow the shovel to get under the sheet of ice – allowing it to be lifted. And so with bewilderment, and might I add while being force-fed humble pie, I watched as a now openly gloating hubby easily peeled and lifted huge layers of ice with his shovel – and in less than 5 minutes, the entire driveway was clean; freed; finally divorced from its possessive icy wife … and all it took were a few, unassuming, silent, yet very powerful particles of cheap salt. The salt didn’t have to do anything. It didn’t have to expend any effort. Its mere presence more than sufficed. By simply being itself, it effected change around it.

This was one of the most powerful lessons I have ever learned. It made me think about our Christian walk. Like that sharp object we used to hack away at the ice unsuccessfully, there is temptation that comes at us that is loud, obvious and obnoxious.  The enemy knows that when he comes at you with obvious temptations that are undeniably wrong, you will almost always say no. You will stand your ground. You will remain firm. You will not compromise. But like that salt, there are other temptations that are presented to us as innocent and toothless; they fly under the radar and look like they would never hurt a fly.  But in essence, they are elements of darkness clothed as agents of light. And so we do our due diligence. We reconcile them against our known list of sins, and we find they’re not on the list. We listen keenly for warning bells and none ring out. And so we deem them safe, embrace them, open our lives up to them, and trust them unreservedly. Unbeknownst to us however, just like the salt, their essence and influence slowly infiltrate every aspect of our lives and before long, they change us. They change our values, change our disciplines, and sear our consciences. They manage to give the devil that proverbial inch that permits him to take a mile. That inch that permits him to take his shovel, shove it under us, and unglue us from the Vine – our Lord Jesus Christ upon whom we as branches are grafted. That proverbial inch that permits the enemy to attempt to divorce us from the Holy Spirit, our Power source.

So what are the “unassuming salts” in our lives? The wolves in sheep’s clothing if you will? Well, they can be friendships, busyness, muchness, laziness, so-called ‘small sins’ like little white lies, blurring boundaries, not keeping up with the spiritual disciplines of reading the Bible and praying everyday, neglecting the gathering together of believers (i.e. going to church), refusing to be accountable to anyone, being lukewarm, letting the passionate love of God you once had fizzle away, allowing good things to become idols, etc, etc…. Let’s watch out for these “salts”! Do not mistake their “silence” for weakness. When they go unchecked, unconfessed, and unrestrained, they can be a loudly powerful force that will seek to drive a wedge between us and our Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s remember that if you let in only the head of the snake, his whole body will quickly slither right in also, and you will be ultimately consumed.

Initially when I pondered upon this ice storm lesson, I thought of it only from a negative perspective; that is, from people/things the enemy can use to infiltrate your life and damage your witness. However, at our church, The Lakeside Church, we have been studying Matthew 5:13-16 – and I can definitely see a correlation. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Our Pastor, Sabrina, talked about how Christians can be salt and light in the world simply by living out their Christianity/ Salvation in the presence of others. People are watching us as Christians. In fact it is said that Christians are the only “Bible” an unbeliever will ever read. They observe how we respond to situations, both good and bad. If we’re representing Christ well, that will not go unnoticed. They will decipher that the only reasonable explanation as to why your reactions and responses differ from theirs is because you have Christ living in you, whereas they don’t. And as a consequence of your “silent” witness/evangelism, they will want what you have and will be drawn to Christ. And so like those wintry salts, by living out your Christian Faith unapologetically, authentically, and in a way that honors Christ, you inadvertently help to soften the hardened hearts of the unbelievers in your circle of influence. And in so doing, their now malleable hearts are more receptive to the tuggings, promptings, and drawing of the Holy Spirit. Your ‘salty’ influence on their lives slowly changes their attitudes and outlook, and it starts to divorce them from their belief that they do not need a Saviour. This then creates room for Jesus to enter their world, pierce their darkness with His marvelous light, and welcome them into His eternal kingdom.

So friends, let’s be salt. Let’s be light. Let’s endeavour to represent Christ well in everything we do and in how we respond to all situations.

Let’s also watch out for those seemingly innocent things, activities, behaviours or people that would silently serve to separate us from our Lord. Let’s remember to always be on guard, and to always have on the full armor of God:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

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