Earth’s Salt People

Salt has one flavor.

Photo by Jason Tuinstra on Unsplash

All that can be done to change salt is to adjust amount. At low levels salt brings out the flavor of other foods. At high concentrations it stops spoilage.

Salt is critical to sustaining life itself. Animal bodies, without any effort, contain and utilize salt. It’s built into the biochemistry. As proof, sweat tastes salty. I think our ancestors intuitively knew this (not the biochemistry part).

Salt is not found evenly distributed across the land. This made it a highly valued trade item, and was once used as a form of currency. Many salt roads, such as the Via Salaria in Italy were in operation by the Bronze Age.

Salt was important for the development of cities and civilization. It helped eliminate dependence on seasonal availability of food and made possible the transport of food long distances.

So that’s some background information about salt and is given to help us consider what Jesus meant when he said that we are “the salt of the earth.”

Well, first of all, he wasn’t talking about everyone. We might or might not be who he was referring to when he made the statement. Here is what he said as recorded by his disciple Matthew.

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)

We are salt, assuming we are committed to being the real deal. It is possible to look the part and be fakes.

But if we are the real deal then this is what I think it means:

We, as his followers, have what society needs to survive.

We preserve what is good and make possible independence from hunger and starvation when life is disrupted.

We allow for travel and the mingling of strangers.

We open up the world for exploration.

We blend and mix and disappear.

We enhance life without dominating it.

We preserve society and oppose corruption.

The common traits of all salt we hold in common with others like ourselves. One grain is usually not enough.

Salt is only effective and useful when it is mixed in or dispensed.

Salt and earth are composed of small particles and they are different not in size but in flavor. We may not be able to distinguish between the two except by taste. The test is simple.

The need to taste the difference between salt and all counterfeits tells me that casual encounters from a distance do not bring out the uniqueness of the message Christians are carrying. Ours is a deeper story than a few billboards, sound bytes, or catchy songs. To truly understand requires time, reflection, and community. That’s why one visit to a church is not enough to understand much of anything. Also I think it speaks to the value of sharing meals together. Please pass the salt.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash