The salt of the earth

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus told his disciples that they were “the salt of the earth.” This phrase may not seem all that powerful at first, but it actually indicates something very powerful about what Jesus expects from his followers, not only two-thousand years ago around the shores of Galilee, but today as well.

The first thing that strikes me about this statement is what Jesus could have said but didn’t. In particular, he could have said that his disciples were the “sugar of the earth.” And frankly, one might easily get that impression from many of the sermons that are preached today! Many people have the idea that Christians are just supposed to be nice, sweet people that everyone likes – just like sugar. But Jesus chose instead to compare us to salt, and with good reason.

Salt has several uses that make it a particularly fitting substance to compare Christians to. The first is as a preservative. Because of its chemical properties, salt is an excellent natural preservative, and is used in foods to retard decay, and keep them from spoiling. In the same way Christians, being born of the incorruptible spirit of God, function as a preserving agent in the world, and ideally will keep those closest to them from “spoiling” in a spiritual sense.

Another way salt is used is to induce thirst. Again, because of its chemical properties, when salt is ingested, it causes us to thirst. Owners of bars, and taverns have capitalized on this for years by setting out things like peanuts, chips or pretzels in order to make their clientele thirsty so that they will buy more drinks. While this may be a crude example, it illustrates a very powerful function of Christians as “the salt of the earth.” As Christians, our very presence should make the world thirsty for the “living water” of the Holy Spirit. (John 7:37-39)

Unfortunately, all too often, this is not the case. In many cases the church has become so much like the world, that they produces no thirst for God at all in those around them. Jesus referred to this in Luke 14:34 when he asked the question, “If the salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again?” He then answered this question himself, saying “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out.” Jesus explained what he meant by the salt becoming “tasteless” in verses 26-33.

Speaking to the people about the “counting the cost” of discipleship, Jesus tells them that if anyone does not “hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” And in verse 33 he said, “None of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” These statements make it clear that Jesus expected his disciples to be willing to give up anything and everything to follow him.

The point Jesus was making is that there is a direct connection between being unwilling to “count the cost” of discipleship and becoming “tasteless” salt. This is just as true of us today as well. If we are unwilling to pay the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, then we will be “tasteless salt” to the world around us. Ultimately the reason anyone is unwilling to pay the cost of discipleship is because they love their own life and the world more than God. If we are still trying be friends with the world, chances are we will be so much like them that we will be useless when it comes to making them thirsty for God.

Take a good look at your own life today. If you claim to be a Christian, then you are a disciple of Jesus and that means you are the “salt of the earth.” The question is how salty are you? Does your life make those around you thirsty for God, or are you so much like the world that you have become tasteless salt? Think about it like this: If there was a group of people that God really needed to add some salt to, would he reach for you?