“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
Matthew 5:13
In the time of Jesus, there were very few things that had more value than salt. At times, salt was even used as a form of currency. You may have heard the phrase, “worth his salt,” which came from the common practice of men being paid in salt. It certainly had a much different connotation then as it does for many of us today. Most of us see salt as a cheap table seasoning, but in the ancient world it was so much more. It could be used as a preservative, as a tool for cleaning and sanitizing, as a seasoning for food, and much more.
When Jesus says that we are the salt of the world, it’s a big deal. He’s saying that we are, in essence, comparable to one of the most valuable substances on earth. Beyond that, we’re not just good for any one thing, but for a great variety of important roles.
However, when salt loses its saltiness, when it has been used up and stripped of its taste, much of its usefulness disappears. The message is for Christians to retain the thing that makes us valuable and useful – our “saltiness.” That is, if we lose our saltiness and begin to look and act just like the rest of the world, what good are we? We have to remain connected to Christ, to live by the Spirit of God, so that we don’t live by the desires of the flesh that the rest of the world is dictated by. In order to do good for the kingdom of God, in order to bring others to Christ, we must continue to stand out apart from the world – maintain that distinct “saltiness” that makes us different and gives our lives value and preserves our souls.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
I know that you have empowered me, and all Christians, to be the salt of the world. Please, help us not to deny our saltiness in favor of fitting in to the blandness of the world. Help us to be a valuable and useful tool for your Kingdom.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
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