“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”-Matthew 5:13-16
In ancient times there were two commodities that were indispensable to society: salt and light. To those listening it would have been like hearing someone say. You are are like breath and blood to the body.
To hear Jesus begin by saying you are the salt of the earth would have immediately resonated with them. Salt was a valuable commodity. Ever hear the old adage “He’s not worth his salt”. Salt was so valuable, soldiers in the Roman army were sometimes paid with salt instead of money. Their monthly allowance was called a salarium ("sal" is the Latin word for salt).
It’s when you begin to look at the two primary applications of salt that you begin to understand why it is so important: preservation and seasoning.
With the invention of refrigeration, the necessity of salt as a means of preserving food doesn’t resonate with you and I as it did with those sitting on that hillside. Likely, every one of them had food stored in salt back at their homes. By using this salt metaphor, Jesus may have meant that His disciples are called to act as preservatives in the world by slowing down the advancement of moral and spiritual decay.
Psalm 14:3 states that: “All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Believers are commissioned by God to preserve truth and goodness in a corrupt world. However, this requires that we are living a life of holiness. I contend that it is the Spirit of God working through a believers life that is restraining the evil at work in this world:
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.”-2 Thessalonians 2:7 (ESV)
Once the body of Christ is taken out of the way, the world will see how God’s people were preserving the earth from destruction.
In addition to preservation, salt was also used as a seasoning. It simply made things tastier by enhancing the flavor. It makes bland things better, by drawing out the good in it. As believers, God has called us to draw out the good in the world around us by making God’s work stand out from the normal way of doing things. One way Jesus taught his disciples to do this is found in Luke 6:
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
As believers behave in ways that reflect God’s nature, they accentuate the difference that Jesus makes in person’s life. Nevertheless, we must be careful to not lose our flavor with the world by making them salty! Salt is an extraordinary seasoning in the hands of a chef, but dangerous in the hands of a two year old. If we are not living a life that upholds God’s moral standards or living in such a way that demonstrates the goodness and kindness of God, then what value are we? We are like salt tossed out and trampled on. We must not only profess God’s goodness, but also reflect the character of God in how we live.
Scott Burr
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