OP-ED: IS THERE SALT ON YOUR CAP?

Proverbs 16: 3 “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.”

By Van Yandell

During my teaching years, three months in the summer were mine to seek other employment. Mostly my summers were spent laying concrete blocks or working framing construction.

I did play nine holes of golf in 1983 and went fishing for about ten minutes in ’79. Those were the most boring experiences of my life.

Several of those summers were spent in Brevard County Florida working with a contractor I had known for many years.

We framed houses in Titusville, Port St. John and Merritt Island. One of my greatest thrills has been to see a pile of building material go from a monolithic concrete slab to a standing structure.

When the roof trusses were placed and decked, the structure took on the appearance of a house. Thoughts were often wondering of the family that would make that house a home.

Once the house was “dried in” the plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, roofers and window and door installers could work their tasks in completing the future home.

Several of those summers, I worked with a crew from West Virginia; they wrote the book on hard work. Their favorite saying was “When we work we work hard and when we play we play hard.”

Mark was so tall he could cut off rafter tails standing on the ground. Greg was strong as a young bull and any time something had to be moved, Greg was called.

Andy could drive a 16 sinker with one hammer strike but was afraid of heights. I thought I could cure him of that phobia but when he ascended to the ridge, I had to go up and bring him down.

Many carpenters wear ball caps. On those jobs, those guys would sometimes come to work on Monday morning wearing a new, dark colored cap. By Wednesday, those caps had turned white from the bill to the top button.

The white substance was salt from evaporated sweat. At times we joked about the white caps and often accused the wearer of using a salt shaker to make it look like he was actually working.

We full well knew what the salt was and where it came from. Hard work is not old-fashioned and many in today’s world could take a lesson from those nail-drivers from West Virginia.

The last words of Christ Jesus before He ascended were an order for us to work. Matthew 28: 19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Those words are not a command to sit down and let someone else do the work. Those words are personal and direct to every believer in our Jesus.

“Go ye therefore” is not a suggestion; it is an imperative! A missionary we worked with in China used the words “believer-follower.” That status is not to be taken lightly; it is serious and crucial that all Christians regard it as a statement of authority that must be directed inwardly.

Theodore Roosevelt said “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

Is the work of the Christian worth doing? To the believer-follower of Jesus, that is not a legitimate question. Realizing the alternatives for the non-believer, the work Jesus admonished us with, there is no doubt, no question.

Ecclesiastes 2: 24 “There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.”

We must at this point, understand our eternal salvation is not based on our work. We realize many Christians believe their salvation is based on “what they do.” Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Ephesians 2: 8-10 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Many confuse this scripture to indicate one can work his/her way into Heaven. “Created in Christ Jesus unto good works” conclusively states we work because of our faith connection to Him. We have eternal salvation because of our belief in Him and His suffering and shed blood on the cross.

James 2: 17-18 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

One’s faith based continued belief after initial salvation belief is demonstrated by the work Christ Jesus admonished us to do. Many Christians regard His mandate to “preach this gospel to all nations” in what many refer to as “The Great Commission” as an imperative, not a suggestion.

“Salt on your cap” is obviously a metaphor. Salt on a construction worker’s cap is a visible sign of physical exertion. Figuratively, is there salt on your cap? “Work” is telling others about our Glorious Savior, for the time is coming when it will be too late.

The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9).

Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com