Scripture
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.”
MATTHEW 5:13
Context
This may come as a surprise to some, but Jesus and his disciples actually didn’t have refrigerators to keep their turkey sandwiches cool until lunch back in the day. No mini fridges to slip some leftover hummus and kabobs in. No nothing, actually.
Nothing except for salt, that is.
Salt was immensely valuable in Jesus’ time and even before. It was valuable because it made cheeseburgers taste good, just as it does today… But more than that, it was immensely valuable in ancient times not just as a flavor enhancer, but as a preservative.
In a world without refrigerators or any other method of preserving fresh meat over long periods of time, ancient Egyptians found out in as early as 2000 B.C. that a thick coating of salt around the exterior of meat or fish kept the proteins fresh for months or even years. An absolutely revolutionary discovery.
Salt absorbs moisture on the exterior of meat and seals the aging process from the outside. The outside forms a shell of moisture absorption that allows the interior of the meat to almost escape time and the normal process of decay.
As you could imagine this made salt a HUGELY important commodity in this time. In fact, because of this, about ⅔ of salt that was mined in this time was used not for purposes of adding flavor to food… but for the purposes of preservation.
Application
So Jesus told his disciples that Christians are supposed to be the “salt of the earth.” Salt was awfully useful. What are we supposed to make of that? A few things.
- Preserve the timeless teachings of Jesus – The world naturally [steers] towards rot and decay. It loves drunkenness and foul language. It loves irreverence and anger. Glorification of self above all and promiscuity. Mocking God and the teachings of God.
But Jesus, in stark contrast to human nature, calls his disciples to resist cultural and spiritual decay and instead preserve. He calls them to form a shell of protection around his teachings and live according to timeless truths, sealing out any matters that can lead to spoil. Jesus is instructing His disciples to live a life outside of the influence of time and trends and instead preserve goodness and preserve His teachings.
“Salt doesn’t just savor, it saves.” – Andrew Wilson
- Resist the natural decay of the world around you – Psalm 37:1-2 says, “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.”
Do not look at the decay of the world around you and take part or envy it. Do not look at it and think to yourself, “You know, they actually make a good point.” Don’t fall for that. Defy the strong undertow of sinful surroundings that lead to decay and instead find freshness of life with Christ.
Something to Chew On:
- Inspect your own life as if from an outside perspective. The things you value, the way you talk, what you believe. Is it more heavily influenced by contemporary teachings or timeless teachings preserved by God?
- Where do you see and experience decay in your own life? How can you go about bringing saltiness to that environment, restoring life and freshness to others?
- What area of your life needs a coat of salt to resist decay or further decay? (Think about your intentions around others, your current close relationships, your strongly held beliefs, your second nature daily habits, the way you speak, what and who you value, how you spend your money, your goals in life, what you spend your time doing, what you spend your time thinking about, how you treat yourself and others… Are all of these things coated in salt and preserving God’s priorities? Or are they falling into rot and decay?)
GreatValue Proverb:
Stay salty