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Florida State University has been the home of stellar athletes over the years especially in football. Heisman Trophy Winner Charlie Ward , winner of both NFL Rookie of the Year and Heisman the previous year Jamie’s Winston, and Standout Vikings RB Dalvin Cook. However, The most notable football player to ever suit up for the Seminoles is Deion Sanders. Entering both the College & Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 he is still the standard by which most DB’s are judged. In 2020, he got his first college head coaching job at Jackson State University. He said he wanted to create a pathway to the NFL & show that with the same resources they can do as well as any other school.
JSU won the SWAC in his second season but it’s the off-season where he’s making waves. Pulling Travis Hunter who committed to Coach Prime’s alma mater to the capital city of Mississippi. Now he snags St. Louis’s own Kevin Coleman, the #1 WR in MO & #6 WR in the nation. Coleman surprised everyone as he announced his final 3 schools as Oregon, Miami, & FSU. Coach Prime didn’t have a clue Coleman was considering the Tigers. I know this had to make the Seminole staff feel some kind of way.
When Hunter came he said he wanted to be a part of history, start a trend and he’s doing just that. Now he and Coleman will not only sharpen each other’s skills in practice
but have the chance to brighten the burgeoning spotlight on HBCU’s. While blazing a trail they are leaving FBS schools, especially FSU feeling kind of Salty.
Jesus calls his disciples, his followers the Salt of the Earth. What does salt do?
It seasons, making food more desirable. It makes makes people thirst. Salt licks, are blocks of salt placed in the field to ensure cattle will drink water. It adds shelf life, people have salted meat for years and it's still used as a preservative today. It also has value.
Our word Salary comes from the Latin word for Salt. It was used as currency in the Mayan world and for Roman Soldiers. This is where the cliché "worth your salt" was originated. Hunter, Coleman & Sanders are salting the HBCU landscape. Making athletes and fans alike, thirsty for these schools and coverage of their athletic programs. Helping to season College football with the unique experience of HBCU games. They are preserving the history of these institutions where many of African-American thought leaders matriculated. They are also showing a new generation the value these schools hold, especially for students of color.
Disciples, followers of Jesus are charged to salt more than just a league or an industry, but the world! Christians lives are to make word & things of God more desirable.
How we face challenges should make others want to know our God. One who causes a former firecracker to be calm. They should see the power of God radically change lives.
The world needs to hear the testimonies of how our prayers have saved natural lives from accidents and terminal illness. They need to hear, How praying parents have seen the most troubled children changed and thus preserved. Our victories and how we treat others, should reflect the value that every person has in the sight of God.
That’s what God is calling his children to be in the world. Don’t try to be like the world, there are enough people in that lane. Doing that causes you to lose your saltiness
and thus lose your value. If salt is exposed to rain or mingles with vegetables, it loses it's savor. Likewise, when Christians become part of the world, they stop being salty,
they become a cautionary tale. Salt was used like gravel in the ancient middle east. The priest would also use salt that lost its savor to add traction on the temple steps
when they became wet. Likewise if a believer were to lose their savor, one could look to how this happened, and hold on to God's promises so they don't fall when things get slippery.
So here’s the play: Be salty. Show your value and the benefits of loving God, by causing others to thirst after him. Bring a different much needed flavor to world
which will preserve lives.