When Jesus said disciples are to be the salt of the earth, he wasn't talking about flavor or preserving. 
He was talking about dung and ovens. Interpretations of preserving and flavor really do not capture the picture of a believer's calling. It's a different challenge... 

Many conservative Christians would not believe that there are times when Jesus does NOT want us coming to Him. There are times as believers that we should not go to Jesus with our problem.

Hold on. Surely all those hymns, sermons, greeting cards, and cross-stitched pillows about 1 Peter 5:7, the ones that encourage us to cast all our cares upon Him, they can't be wrong! Well, maybe we've missed something...