Are You the Salt of the Earth?

Salt (NaCl), specifically sodium chloride, or common table salt, is a most useful compound.  It is quite common (and necessary) in all cultures and in everyone’s daily lives.  It can be used for many different purposes.  One of the most common purposes that the vast majority of people would be familiar with is as a seasoning for food.  Indeed, salt is the first example listed in most English dictionary definitions of seasoning.  Salt also has preservative capabilities and will keep things fresh for long periods of time.  This is because of salts dehydrating property.  When salt comes into contact with bacteria it will absorb water through the cell walls of the bacteria depriving it of the water it needs to survive (as explained in this Chemistry.com article).  Salt may also be used for certain healing purposes and has been used as a healing agent for sick and injured people for centuries, according to this EHow.com article, and has great medical benefits according to this LiveStrong.com article.  By-the-way, for this particular discussion I am not authenticating the accuracy of these sites.  I am proceeding on the assumption that we may all agree that salt has been recognized and used as a healing agent for many centuries and continues to be used as such today.  These links are provided as examples only.  If you want to debate the specifics of salt as a healing agent, that will have to be a separate discussion.

Salt also has a Theological connotation, specifically a Biblical one (as you might have surmised from the title of today’s post).  Most Christians, and quite a few other folks are familiar with at least this specific verse from the Sermon on the Mount (containing the Beatitudes).  Specifically, Jesus, teaching his disciples, said that they were the salt of the Earth.  But what was Jesus saying, exactly, when he said his disciples were the salt of the Earth?

I know many Christians that believe he meant that his disciples are to be the preserving agent of the Earth (in this case Society).  Indeed, I have heard this preached from the pulpits in churches before.  I know some Christians that believe he meant his disciples are to be the healing agent of the Earth (Society).  Very seldom do you hear Christians talk as if they believe he meant that his disciples are to be the seasoning of the Earth (Society).

The problem is in exactly how you interpret this passage because that is what will govern your actions and shape your interactions with others.  As another aside here, not only Christians may benefit from these principles, even though Jesus specifically said HIS disciples are the salt of the Earth, everyone can learn and apply a lesson to their lives here.

So how do we interpret Jesus’ words here?  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon tells us that the word salt used here specifically refers to those saline (salty) compounds that act as fertilizers for fields used for growing crops.  Hence SALT of the EARTH.  This seems to be in direct contrast to salt as seasoning since in this context table salt would not be what you would use (table salt would render the field sterile).  However, the second phrase is different and refers to salt directly as a seasoning.  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon also tells us that the emphasis placed within the Greek is such that the second phrase is the important phrase.  This is also supported by the ending phrase.  Specifically, we should interpret the verse as Jesus telling his disciples they are to be the seasoning of the Earth.

OK.  So what?  What does that have to do with me and my life today?  Well to answer that question, lets look at the different methods and properties of salt in its various uses.

In the case of salt acting as a preservative it is because of its dehydrating properties, specifically with bacteria that may be on the food.  When YOU (as the salt of the Earth) interact with others as a preservative, you are attacking the bacteria of Society sucking all the water out through the cell walls.  You are killing the bacteria and preserving the food.  The problem with this approach is that it is not our job to preserve the food.  That is the job of the Holy Spirit.  The idea here is that the food being preserved is the Holiness of God himself.  And we, the salt of the Earth, rush right in to kill all the bacteria in order to preserve the status quo.  This is a harsh property of salt and is destructive to the bacteria itself.  God did not put us here to kill all the bacteria on Earth, indeed that is an impossible task, rather God is perfectly capable of defending his own honor.  We are not here as a caustic effect, but rather an enhancing effect.

Similarly, salt acting as a healing agent has harsh properties attacking bacteria within wounds and cleansing soiled areas.  How many of us have gone swimming in the ocean with an open cut or wound and felt the sting of the salt water against the cut?  We are not here to heal all the wounds of the Earth, nor to sting those with open cuts.  That is not our purpose as salt.

Rather we are to be the salt that is seasoning.  We are the salt that makes Life taste good.  We should be the salt that everyone is reaching for at the kitchen table.  The salt that is going to add flavor to the food.  The salt that is the spice of Life.  And an interesting note here, too much salt and the food no longer tastes good.  If the salt shaker loses its cap and the salt dumps all over the meat, most of us will cry in anguish.  The food will be too salty.  Flavoring is all about just the right amount.

So how about you?  Are you the Salt of the Earth?  Are you the caustic preservative out to kill all the bacteria in the world?  Are you the healing agent stinging open wounds?  Or are you the savory seasoning making the Lives of those around you taste good?  Applied in just the right amount?  To the right foods?  Enhancing the flavor of all around you?  Which SALT are you?