PRAYER AND POLITICS

I spend quite a bit of my time in the kitchen. Just a few days ago, I noticed that the salt in my blue pot was rapidly disappearing.

 

I had several items already on my shopping list but I quickly realized that though the other items could wait a day or two, I could not do without salt! Food – whether salty or sweet – just would not taste the same without that fairly invisible white substance well spread out in the dish.
 
My husband kindly bought the salt and with a sense of relief I emptied the bag into the salt pot. And as I did so, my imagination caught onto the idea.
 
What, I thought, would happen if the salt inside the pot simply refused to be taken out and used?
 
What if the salt grains complained to me that they actually did not want to lose their glossy white colour – and that they therefore preferred to stay in the pot, together.
 
They were, after all, so small in size. This made them feel vulnerable and rather insignificant. Staying together in a safe pot (preferably even with the lid on) was certainly a better option. This way they would even look more impressive – and if they wanted to make a difference in the world, that would definitely be the way.
 
I suppose I don’t need to specify that from my point of view, this reasoning was as faulty as it was ridiculous. Salt was needed IN the cooking – not next to it in a separate container.
 
It was a good thing that my salt didn’t fuss when I plunged a spoon into the middle of it to draw some out. Otherwise our meal today might have been – to say the least – rather bland.
 
So, how about us? Are we ready to be sprinkled out to make a difference wherever we are put? Or are we still like salt stuck in the pot?  

 

Elina Placentino

November 5, 2013