Matthew 5:13 13You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how will it be made salt? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under the feet of people.
Jesus gives two illustrations in the following verses about how disciple can live out their faith in the hostile situation described in verses 10-12. Both of these metaphors are meant for disciples (you). There are many kinds of salts in our homes: Morton salt, iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt, garlic salt, seasoning salt, Epsom salts. This past year, I came across a new craze: Himalayan pink salt. Salt has two special purposes. One is that it preserves from corruption. Salt was very important in Jesus’ day. People then had no other way to preserve certain kinds of foods. In the centuries before refrigeration was invented, it was used to keep meat wholesome and to prevent decay. As the salt of the earth, we preserve the values of righteousness in the culture around us. If every Christian were to disappear, the values of this world would deteriorate quickly. The presence of Christians helps keep a culture from self-destructing. If Christians are silent about righteous values, soon righteousness will disappear.
Second, salt seasons and enhances flavor. Salt gives zest to food and is a favorite addition to many foods because it helps them taste better. Have you ever put too much salt on food? Once you put it in, you cannot get it out, not even by adding water. In the same way, our testimony can have a great impact on the people around us. Negativity is a poison that also penetrates but can kill any organization or meeting. Colossians 4:6 states, “Let your word always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each and every last person.” Ephesians 4:29 adds, “Do not let any rotten word come out of your mouths, but only what is good for building up as is the need, in order that it may give grace to those who hear.” What taste do we leave in people’s minds after we have been with them? Are they thinking, “Wow, I am glad to get away from that person”? Or, do they think, “That was a really nice time. I hope to see that person again soon”?
Third, salt purifies and cleanses. Salt is used to stop the spread of disease and infection. It is one of the essential ingredients in health care. When people get IV’s, one of the key ingredients is salt in the form of electrolytes. We will die without adequate salt. Salt keeps our bodies healthy. Salt also has a way of purifying and killing unhealthy organism. As the salt of the earth, we can rub off on the people and situations around us and can be cleansing agents by offering holiness, love, and righteousness. People should say about us, “That person is a great person to be around. They are so positive and helped out this situation so much.”
Fourth, salt makes people thirsty. On big diaries or ranches where livestock are raised, there are always big blocks of salt called salt licks. The cattle like to lick the salt. It also makes them thirsty. An old Texas saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water and you can make him drink if you feed him salt.” The people we meet should develop a spiritual thirst for what we have. We have the best news. The story of Jesus changes lives and brings hope. People are looking for meaning, hope, purpose–and we have what they need. When people meet you, do they want more of what you have? Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
Jesus asks a question: How can salt lose its saltiness? Technically, sodium chloride does not change but it loses its potency and purity when it is mixed with other things. In Jesus’ day, salt often came from the area of the Dead Sea and had many impurities and was not always potent. Impure salt does not preserve or season well and may taste terrible.
Our salt loses its saltiness when we compromise our faith and convictions and let the things around us water us down. Compromise results in less effectiveness and loss of witness. When Christianity exists only by name, it losses its influence in a society, which may lead to a rise of sin, sorrow, pain, crime, and abuse. Uncommitted, social, or fleshly Christians become increasingly irrelevant to the culture around them. When we cease to live as God’s holy people, we will be trampled underfoot. To be trampled leads to becoming the scorn of the world.Salt works on the inside. It penetrates and gets into the cracks. Jesus calls us to get in the cracks and influence the people and situations around us.
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