Deuteronomy 29: 22-23: Then your children and the generations to come and the foreigners that pass by from distant lands shall see the devastation of the land and the diseases the LORD will have sent upon it. They will see that the whole land is alkali and salt, a burned over wasteland, unsown, without crops, without a shred of vegetation---just like Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, destroyed by the LORD in HIS anger. [Living Bible translation]
BIBLICAL COMMENTS
The Jewish bible, the Torah, is also called the Pentateuch, which refers to the “Five Books of Moses.” [“Penta” in Latin and Greek means five.] These books include: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy—the first five books of the Christian bible. Deuteronomy, the fifth book, consists of three sermons or speeches where Moses recounts the law given to him by GOD. The book of Deuteronomy also constitutes the rededication of the people to GOD through the renewal of the covenant between GOD and the people of Israel. It is the repeating of the law and the repeating of the people’s vows to GOD.
“Deuteronomy” means “second law,” because the book is Moses’ proclamation of GOD’s divine law to the people a second time. Moses knew that some things were so important they need to be repeated.
Not only are some things worth repeating, some things are also worth remembering. Sometimes it is easy to forget that a giving, gracious, forgiving, loving, caring GOD also gets angry. And that often GOD’s anger has consequences. The children of Israel, like most forgetful children, failed to listen and remember. They repeatedly disobeyed GOD, despite the “hard evidence” right in front of their faces---the barren wastelands of Sodom and Gomorrah.
SALT
Since 1980, the Dietary Guidelines For Americans has been published every five years by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and The Department of Health and Human Services. The guidelines provide authoritative advice and information regarding how to achieve good dietary food habits to promote good health and prevent chronic diseases. The guidelines are meant for all Americans, age two and older. There Dietary Guidelines always include some warning about salt.
The CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has explicitly said that most American should consume less salt. According to the CDC, our bodies only need a small amount of sodium (which most of us consume in the form of salt) to properly function. Eat too much sodium and you increase your blood pressure, your risk for heart disease and your risk for stroke. Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death for most people.
According to the CDC, 9 out of 10 children eat more salt that recommended. About 1 out of 9 children have elevated blood pressure. Most of the sodium is coming from processed foods (e.g. store bought packaged foods, can goods, lunch meats or restaurant and fast foods, outlets foods).
The CDC lists the following 10 foods as accounting for about 40% of most of the sodium Americans eat:
Top Sources of Sodium1
- Breads and rolls
- Pizza
- Sandwiches
- Cold cuts and cured meats
- Soups
- Burritos and tacos
- Savory snacks*
- Chicken
- Cheese
- Eggs and Omelets
*Chips, popcorn, pretzels, snack mixes, and crackers
See, “Top 10 Sources of Sodium,” www.cdc.gov/salt/sources.htm and “Most Americans Should Consume Less Sodium,” https://www.cdc.gov/salt/index.htm.
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that Americans consume less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day as part of a healthy eating pattern. See, https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/. However, one of the changes from the old guidelines is that the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans also recommends a further reduction to 1,500 (mg) for:
[P]ersons who are 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. The 1,500 mg recommendation applies to about half of the U.S. population, including children, and the majority of adults.”
[Emphasis added.] See, “New Dietary Guidelines: What Changed &What Stayed the Same,” by Kris Sollid, RD, December 11, 2015, updated April 24, 2017. An amount of 1,500 mg of salt amounts to about .75 teaspoon of salt per day.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that reducing salt consumption over the next 10 years could save 500,000 lives and nearly 100 billion dollars, in health care costs. And, this does not even include the benefits from improving the quality of a person’s life or setting a positive example to the children and younger ones in our lives. Like Lot’s and most of his family, we have to heed the warning and turn our back on those things that are harmful and simply “not look back.”
If we continuously ignore the plain and stark evidence right in front of us (and often staring straight at us in our mirrors), including the knowledge of friends, family members, love ones and acquaintances who have died, been stricken or are suffering from hypertension and heart disease, we risk, like, Lots unfortunate wife, becoming another victim of disobedience and salt.
Often Americans have to be “weaned” off of salt. For many, it’s not easy. It will help to:
- Read the labels of the food you buy;
2. Take salt “off the table” and avoid cooking with salt. Instead use herbs and spices like rosemary, garlic, basil or other spices to “liven” up your food;
3. Ask about “low sodium” items when you go out to dinner;
4. Eat raw on Wednesdays;
5. Ask family members, church and temple family members, or others in your work place to “get on board” with the “reduced salt in meals program” and remember to also support other people’s attempts to maintain good health;
6. Educate your children and the young ones in your sphere of influence about healthy food choices;
7. And, pray for GOD’s help.
And, as always, speak to your personal physician for help, if you have a medical condition or need additional guidance or assistance.
SOME THINGS ARE WORTH REPEATING AGAIN
Some things we cannot afford to forget. Some things we simply cannot afford to continue to ignore. Some things are worth REALLY paying attention to every single day.
Certainly, our relationship to GOD and to each other is important to our physical, mental and spiritual health. For Christians, every communion Sunday is a time of rededication. Every church sermon, every Sunday School class, every prayer session is a time of education, re-education, and spiritual renewal.
We can’t afford GOD’s angry or ignore our duty of stewardship over the temples in which we “house” HIS HOLY SPIRIT.
Let’s ALL remember to support each other in prayer daily!
Let’s renew and repeat our commitment to greater physical and spiritual health, not only on Wednesdays, but each day.
Renew, Rededicate, Remember and BE BLESSED!
