“YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH; BUT IF THE SALT LOSES ITS FLAVOR…IT IS THEN GOOD FOR NOTHING BUT TO BE THROWN OUT AND TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT BY MEN.” —MATTHEW 5:13
I love salt. I pour it over the already-salty tortilla chips the server brings to Mexican restaurants. I’ve been known to salt pizza. Every chef knows that a bit of salt brings out flavor and adds zest to food.
Sodium and chloride, the chemical components of salt, are fundamental to life. Our nervous and muscular systems rely on sodium to function. Chloride is necessary for digestion and helps regulate body fluids.
Salt is the most popular seasoning in human history! Our word “salad” comes from the seasoning the Romans used on the greens and vegetables.
Roman historian Pliny the Elder extolled the virtues of salt, writing, “Heaven knows, a civilized life is impossible without salt, and so necessary is this basic substance that its name is applied…to all the humour of life, its supreme joyousness, and relaxation after toil, are expressed by this word. It has a place in magistracies also…from which comes the term salary (salt money).”
God even created us with specific taste buds to detect it.
When Jesus called His followers the “salt of the earth,” He used a vibrant metaphor.
Salt represents purity; in the Old Testament, all the sacrifices contained salt.
Because salt inhibits the growth of bacteria and disease, it was used to
preserve foods and as medicine. People still pour salt on wounds to prevent infection and soak in salt to relax.
Governments taxed salt, controlled its production, traded with it, and used it as an economic weapon against their enemies. Human history has been inextricably entwined with salt!
Jesus calls us to be salt because it is fundamental to the health of our society. We can inhibit moral and spiritual decay; we can add zest to life.
With Jesus, we are meant to be a preserving, flavor-enhancing, and healing entity for the world. Christians living under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit influence the world for good and for blessings, just as salt enhances our health and nourishment.
Where there is strife, we can be peacemakers. Where there is sorrow, we can bind up wounds, and where there is hatred, may we exemplify love.
Let yourself be sprinkled into the world! “Christians who practice what they preach arouse and stimulate curiosity in Jesus. When the teaching of Jesus is heard and demonstrated, there will be an impact.” —Rebecca Pippert, Out of the Salt Shaker
