Jesus said, “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 ESV) This famous passage has captured the imagination of followers of Christ ever since Jesus first taught it to a large crowd at the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus Christ wanted to give his followers a helpful illustration so they would understand how to influence the world around them. Salt brings flavor to food and salt preserves food. If it was low quality salt, then it would not have its desired impact. If it was pure and of high quality, then it would have a profound effect.
We often take salt for granted today, but in the time of the Roman Empire it was regarded as one of the most valuable commodities on the market. I was surprised to learn that salt was actually used as currency to pay soldiers in the Roman legion. Once month’s wage was called a solarium in Latin, which is actually where we get our English word “salary” from. We know salt was used to season food, but it had many different uses in the ancient world. It was used to preserve food so that it would not spoil. It was also used in small quantities in soil to help plants grow. The book of Judges gives proof that it was used as a form of punishment on a captured city. After Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem the Bible says he “sowed it with salt.” (Judges 9:45) This would mean that nothing would be able to grow in the fields around the city for many years.
There is disagreement about which meaning Jesus was emphasizing when he referred to his followers as the salt of the earth. Was he referring to the purity of salt, the flavor enhancement, or the preserving property of salt? I believe Jesus could have been referring to each of these meanings, but I am convinced he was emphasizing the preserving power of salt. If salt loses its ability to preserve food then the meat would rot and become worthless. It would not be good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
If you look at the context of the Sermon on the Mount it is clear that Christians will be persecuted for their faith. They will suffer for speaking the truth in love to those around them. Matthew 5:14-16 refers to followers of Christ as the light of the world. The darkness is great, but the light of God is able to shine brightly and keep back the negative impact of the darkness.
Recently, our Men of Grace group was discussing a chapter about integrity in Kent Hughes book, Disciplines of a Godly Man. The chapter was called “The Discipline of Integrity” and it was a call for men in the church to make a stand for what is right. The author gave many examples of how our culture celebrates sin and corruption. None of our men had to be convinced that we are living in a time of low moral integrity. Many in our society don’t think twice about stealing from the workplace or being dishonest with their taxes. The news is often filled with stories of embezzlement and fraud at the highest levels of government and society.
The moral morass of our society makes it even more important for Christians to make a stand for what is right. We are the salt of the earth. We need to use God’s word as our ethical standard. Leviticus 19:2 says, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” The follower of Christ looks to God for his definition of right and wrong. We need to constantly align our consciences with the word of God. That is how we will be able to stay pure and live in holiness. When we fall short we must repent of our sins, but we must always keep our standards high so that we may be the salt of the earth and point people to Christ.
