Sunday, 2/9/14
In speaking of salt
that has lost its taste, Jesus was referring to good people who have fallen
into bad ways that rob them of their force for good. One example of that would be
people who throw their lives away after they become hooked on drugs. I believe
that something like six people out of seven can turn away from it after they
have experimented with cocaine, while that seventh person is ruined.
A friend of mine, in
looking for a topic for people in a writing class at our jail suggested that each
write his or her life story. That produced some sad accounts of people who
belonged to that easily addicted group. It was so sad to read about their loss
of families, homes, and social standing.
Bur while its flavor
can never be restored to salt, people can change. Years ago, riding along,
listening to the car radio, I was tuned into an interview of a famous
therapist. The interviewer asked,
“After thirty years
of listening to case after case does anything surprise you anymore?”
The therapist
answered, “Yes, I am still surprised at how even hardened cases can turn around.”
I had given up on my
brother, an alcoholic who had relapsed badly time and again. Finally, he said
he would give up drinking if we paid for him to make a fresh start in California.
I advised against it, but my Dad put up the money, and it paid off. Eighteen
years later I flew out there for an AA meeting at which one man and woman after
another took the podium to say how they owed their reclaimed life to him.
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