The Salt of the Earth
“Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Matthew 5:13
Salt has many uses. It is a natural substance, sodium chloride (NaCl), found in the ground and in the oceans and is used as a preservative and a seasoning for foods. It also has a cleansing and curative effect. Without salt, food has a bland taste. Just one tiny grain of salt on the tongue can be tasted. Before there was refrigeration, salt was used to preserve meat. To “salt away” or “salt down” means to pack and preserve. To “salt out” means to separate a dissolved substance from a solution by adding salt. Many years ago my husband and I were at the home of friends to enjoy some spaghetti. I watched as the wife put a lot of salt in the water to cook the spaghetti. I remarked, in a nice way, about the large amount of salt she used. She said, “Oh, don’t worry, the salt will boil away.” After my husband and I left that evening, I told him what she said about the salt. He said, “No, the water will boil away, but the salt will remain.”
There is a Latin phrase, “cum grano salis”, which means “with a grain of salt”. This phrase describes the method whereby a statement made by someone is to be taken with some skepticism as to its truthfulness. Since salt is used to separate (“salt out”), I suppose the “grain of salt” is to filter out the truth from the part that’s not true. The phrase to be “worth one’s salt” means to be worth one’s wages or sustenance. In bygone days, salt was used as a medium of exchange. And, of course, we have the well-known phrase “salt of the earth” taken directly from Matthew 5:13 and defined as one who is noble, a person of integrity, and someone on whom others can depend.
The term “salt” is found in several passages of scripture. There was a “covenant of salt” in Numbers 18:19, and in Leviticus 2:13 the Israelites were required to offer salt with their sacrifices. In Judges 9:45, Abimelech, son of Gideon, made himself king over the city of Shechem, destroyed it, and sowed it in salt. In Mark 9:50, Jesus said, “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltiness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another”. By these passages, we can see that salt is more than a substance in a round blue box with a little girl under an umbrella on the front of the box.
As Christians we are to make others thirsty for a relationship with Jesus Christ by our witness, our lifestyle, and the joy and contentment we display because of the One who lives within our hearts. We are also to act as a preserving agent against the onslaught and decay of our sin-soaked world. I believe that godly Christians are the only thing keeping this world from collapsing in on itself. Those who are truly the “salt of the earth” are those persons who belong to the Lord by grace through faith. Those who are known as “carnal Christians” are those who allow the flesh to be in control, losing their “saltiness”, thereby not have the ability to flavor all those with whom they come in contact. These carnal Christians are called hypocrites by those who do not know Christ, and the enemy will trample any Christian integrity that the carnal Christians have left. Christians who act like the world destroy their own witness and cause the world to look with disdain and hatred at all Christians.
In Ephesians 5:15-16, the Apostle Paul wrote to believers to encourage them to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Paul certainly hit the nail on the head. Just imagine if he could see the world now. To “walk circumspectly” means to give very careful attention to everything we say and do that all would be to glorify the Lord. To “redeem the time” means to make the most of the opportunities we have while on earth. It would seem like there is not much time left to make a difference for the kingdom of God. Someone once said, “Living the Christian life is not easy, it’s impossible”. Indeed it is impossible on our own. However, with God’s help, we can be godly Christians, “the salt of the earth”, and not be among those who are “cast out, and trodden under foot of men”.