Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13. What?
Remember what salt meant back then. It was a preservative for food—meat packed in salt lasts a long time. Application? We preserve the world. Christians should keep things pure and fresh. Does your influence slow the decay around you? Does our culture remain pure and fresh because of our impact? Do people make better choices because of you? I bet they do.
Salt also adds flavor, and has a special way of drawing out the flavors unique to each food. Our lives should enrich the lives around us, adding good flavors. Moreover, our influence should be the kind that draws out the unique, special flavors of those around us. We should make them better at being themselves—not try to make them just like us. I want to recognize what is unique in those around me and amplify that. Help them fulfill their potential.
Salt was also a reward. It was often used as pay—our word “salary” comes from salt. Are we a reward, a blessing to our peers?
Jesus adds a warning:
“If the salt should become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” Matthew 5:13.
But how can an compound like salt (NaCl) lose its flavor? What does Jesus mean? I wondered for years. Turns out, salt was often cut (diluted) with sand. This made it last longer, but too much sand and it became tasteless—garbage.
Jesus is saying we can lose our flavor and influence when we are diluted. How? Worldliness. You are “diluted” when you fill your head and heart with the thoughts and passions of the lost, or consume hours and hours of their music, stories, videos, pictures. When you fill your head with the junk of the world, you are like a salt shaker full of sand—tasteless, gritty, horrible.
YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH.
Keep being a blessing to everyone around you. Preserve the culture and protect it from rot. Add your flavor. And enhance the flavor of those around you. Do it by PRAYER and BIBLE STUDY.
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Household Words: 