In our service today we looked at our identity as ‘salt of the earth’ (Matt 5:13), a phrase which has come to mean someone who is humble, good and unassuming. Salt is very common and seen as ordinary nowadays (though in Roman times, soldiers were paid in salt – hence our word ‘salary’), but even if our role in society seems very ordinary, it is nonetheless important.
Salt is important in 5 distinctive ways:
1. In flavouring
2. In preserving
3. In sacrifices
4. In destruction
5. In fertilising
The Message version of Matt 5:13 talks about ‘‘You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth.’ We all know how salt can enhance the flavour of food (especially chips and crisps!) and can be mixed with other flavours to create something new (e.g. salted caramel.) God created a good and perfect world; it is our job, even though sin has tainted much of what we see, to bring out the goodness and remind people of God through how we live.
Food was often preserved through salt in the days before refrigeration. Christians are called to remind others of God’s invisible presence in the world and thus to preserve all that is good and wholesome. Salt not only savours; it saves. As salt, we are called to stand up for what is right, to fight injustice, to help the weak and vulnerable. As we do this, we preserve God’s ways in the world.
Lev 2:13 mentions salt in sacrifices, and we are called to live distinctly different lives where we value others and deny ourselves (see Phil 2:3-4). We are called to remind the world that the Jesus way is the way of self-denial and sacrifice.
Salt is often mentioned in judgment and destruction (see the story of Lot’s wife who looked back when leaving Sodom.) Unpopular though it may make us, we are called to remind people of the consequences of sin and of the judgment that is coming on those who do not believe. We cannot present a one-sided view of God, but must warn all people that now is the day of salvation.
Salt can also be used as a fertiliser for soil; depending on the conditions, it can help the earth retain water, make fields easier to plough, release minerals for plants, kill weed, protect crops from disease, stimulate growth and increase yields. We are called to sow the seed of God’s word everywhere and can enrich our communities through how we live.
Being the salt of the earth, therefore, is a noble and vital role for every believer. We can make a difference. We can bring flavour; we can preserve all that is good and honourable; we can show the world a different way of living, the way of sacrifice. We can remind people of the consequences of sin; we can act as a fertiliser that promotes growth. As we do this, the effect we have on other people and on our communities is significant. When we live in this counter-cultural way, when we follow Jesus whole-heartedly and take up our cross daily and deny ourselves, then we can live out our identity as the salt of the earth and our discipleship becomes flavoursome, preserving goodness, exposing sin and bringing growth to others.
