Jesus said, You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Matthew 5:13
For some years now I have been careful about how much salt I eat - the medical people tell us, after all, that too much can cause serious illness, including things like strokes.
But we all need some salt, both for health and for the sheer enjoyment of food. Indeed, isn’t salt exactly what you need if you suffer from cramps?
In the ancient world salt was especially important, not something to be taken for granted. Roman soldiers received a part of their pay in the form of salt, or money to buy it with. (Our word “salary”, in fact, comes from the Latin “sal”, which means salt.)
So when Jesus told his followers that they were “the salt of the earth” they will have sat up and taken notice. Jesus was telling them that in a world that often seems grey, hard and rather dreary, they were to impart flavour, zest and taste. And like salt in the days before refrigeration, they were to help stop the rot in human society by the Christlike quality of their lives.
It’s especially sad, then, when we who call ourselves Christians “lose our saltiness”.
That might mean a lot of things. But in essence Jesus is talking about times when we act just like everybody else, following the habits and customs of the world around us. Not thinking - just “going with the flow”. (Have a look at Matthew 7:13-14 for a warning about that.)
Not that we are called to be different just for the sake of being different. Of course not. But our lives should demonstrate that in matters both large and small there is a better way, indeed a heavenly way, a happier, more joyful way.
To put it in a single word - Jesus is talking about holiness.
Some years ago there was a top cricketer who made no secret of his faith. In one innings he faintly touched the ball to the wicket-keeper (which means, in case you’re not familiar with cricket, that he was “out” - “caught behind”). But instead of heading for the pavilion he stayed where he was. In effect he was telling the umpire a lie: “I didn’t touch the ball”. (There are more ways of lying than by using words.) One of the opposing players looked at him and said, “I thought you were supposed to be a Christian”.
A case of the salt losing its saltiness?
A prominent politician, well known as a “committed Christian” and a “regular church-goer”, ends up in prison for fiddling his expenses. Another case of the salt losing its saltiness? You don’t have to look far for other examples.
Of course it’s very easy to point the finger at other people, especially when they’re in the public eye. But, as has been pointed out many times, every time you point a finger at someone else you point three at yourself. So the question that really matters is “How ‘salty’ is my life? Never mind him, her or them - have I lost my saltiness?
Jesus warns us that tasteless salt will be “thrown out and trampled underfoot”. The Message Bible translation puts Jesus’ words like this: “Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” We can’t say we haven’t been warned.
Perhaps there’s another thing about Jesus’s parable that we can add, though he himself didn’t say it...
Even if salt that has gone rotten can never be good salt again, a Christian who has lost his or her way can be renewed, by God’s grace.
If we have a good honest look at our lives - perhaps using the prayer of Psalm 139: “Search me , O God and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” - if we do this, and decide that we really want to change, then our gracious God will enable us to do so. True, heart-felt repentance is an open door into renewal and inner purity.
And that means that there’s no danger of us wasting our lives and ultimately “ending up in the garbage”!
Loving Father, as I go about my business today, help me to make this fallen and troubled world a better, happier, purer place. In my words, deeds and thoughts, may I reflect the perfection of Jesus himself. Amen.
For some years now I have been careful about how much salt I eat - the medical people tell us, after all, that too much can cause serious illness, including things like strokes.
But we all need some salt, both for health and for the sheer enjoyment of food. Indeed, isn’t salt exactly what you need if you suffer from cramps?
In the ancient world salt was especially important, not something to be taken for granted. Roman soldiers received a part of their pay in the form of salt, or money to buy it with. (Our word “salary”, in fact, comes from the Latin “sal”, which means salt.)
So when Jesus told his followers that they were “the salt of the earth” they will have sat up and taken notice. Jesus was telling them that in a world that often seems grey, hard and rather dreary, they were to impart flavour, zest and taste. And like salt in the days before refrigeration, they were to help stop the rot in human society by the Christlike quality of their lives.
It’s especially sad, then, when we who call ourselves Christians “lose our saltiness”.
That might mean a lot of things. But in essence Jesus is talking about times when we act just like everybody else, following the habits and customs of the world around us. Not thinking - just “going with the flow”. (Have a look at Matthew 7:13-14 for a warning about that.)
Not that we are called to be different just for the sake of being different. Of course not. But our lives should demonstrate that in matters both large and small there is a better way, indeed a heavenly way, a happier, more joyful way.
To put it in a single word - Jesus is talking about holiness.
Some years ago there was a top cricketer who made no secret of his faith. In one innings he faintly touched the ball to the wicket-keeper (which means, in case you’re not familiar with cricket, that he was “out” - “caught behind”). But instead of heading for the pavilion he stayed where he was. In effect he was telling the umpire a lie: “I didn’t touch the ball”. (There are more ways of lying than by using words.) One of the opposing players looked at him and said, “I thought you were supposed to be a Christian”.
A case of the salt losing its saltiness?
A prominent politician, well known as a “committed Christian” and a “regular church-goer”, ends up in prison for fiddling his expenses. Another case of the salt losing its saltiness? You don’t have to look far for other examples.
Of course it’s very easy to point the finger at other people, especially when they’re in the public eye. But, as has been pointed out many times, every time you point a finger at someone else you point three at yourself. So the question that really matters is “How ‘salty’ is my life? Never mind him, her or them - have I lost my saltiness?
Jesus warns us that tasteless salt will be “thrown out and trampled underfoot”. The Message Bible translation puts Jesus’ words like this: “Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” We can’t say we haven’t been warned.
Perhaps there’s another thing about Jesus’s parable that we can add, though he himself didn’t say it...
Even if salt that has gone rotten can never be good salt again, a Christian who has lost his or her way can be renewed, by God’s grace.
If we have a good honest look at our lives - perhaps using the prayer of Psalm 139: “Search me , O God and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” - if we do this, and decide that we really want to change, then our gracious God will enable us to do so. True, heart-felt repentance is an open door into renewal and inner purity.
And that means that there’s no danger of us wasting our lives and ultimately “ending up in the garbage”!
Loving Father, as I go about my business today, help me to make this fallen and troubled world a better, happier, purer place. In my words, deeds and thoughts, may I reflect the perfection of Jesus himself. Amen.
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