Salt of the Earth

Salt has one flavor.

Photo by Jason Tuinstra on Unsplash

All that can be done to change it is to adjust amount. At low levels salt brings out the flavor of other foods. At high quantities 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 considered a form of currency by some people groups. Many salt roads, such as the via Salaria in Italy were in operation by the Bronze Age.

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

But let’s not pass over what this means too quickly. To civilize is to bring order out of chaos, to enable people to live better lives in cooperation and harmony with one another.

Now to the famous statement, “You are the salt of the earth.”

Well, first of all, there are strings attached.

You and I might not be.

It isn’t a general statement, and this is important to understand in order to get to the heart of its true meaning.

To begin with, this is one verse in a long sermon by Jesus found in Matthew. The Gospel of Matthew begins the New Testament and is the first of four accounts of the life of Jesus. If you have been following The Chosen, you know Matthew to be the tax collector.

The Sermon on the Mount, as it is called, begins in Chapter 5 but let me show you the preceding verse.

And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 4:25 (ESV)

Get the picture. Thousands coming from everywhere and no sound amplification equipment.

So what happens next?

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

Matthew 5:1-2 (ESV)

Stop right there. Who is he teaching? Who is he speaking to?

It isn’t the masses.

It is his disciples.

He taught those close enough to hear.

Besides, the masses didn’t follow him into the wilderness to hear what he had to say. They went into the wildness to get what they thought he could give, primarily healing and the possibility of freedom from oppression.

So Jesus’s words are for disciples. Believers. Members of his flock. Those  committed; all in. Not just everyone.

And yet no one is excluded.

Each of us decides where we want to be by where we decide to sit. We can sit far back outside of the sound of Jesus’s voice or up close. Our call.

The point for you and me is the Bible is not a closed book. It is available to everyone once they are made aware of its existence and importance. You, for example, may know it exists, but not that it is important in the least. I get it. That’s what I thought for years.

Sure a little orientation might help but we decide how much we wish to take in. Also understand. It doesn’t make sense to read things out of context, including the Bible. A lot of verses can be cherry-picked that seem to imply things that just ain’t so. The Bible isn’t magical. Read it like you would other books and analyze it the same way. It won’t disappoint.

Anyway, the beginning section of the sermon, known as The Beatitudes, is a further description of who Jesus is talking to. We can discuss it in more detail another time. He is sort of saying, “If you identify with my description about being spiritually poor and needy, and you are sad, and want things to be better and you are picked on because you like me, then this is who you are:

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 you are the real deal then this is what I think it means:

You have what society needs to survive.

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

You allow for travel and the mingling of strangers.

You open up the world for exploration.

You blend and mix and disappear.

You enhance life without dominating it.

You preserve society and oppose corruption.

The common traits of all salt you hold in common with others like yourself.

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. You may not be able to distinguish between the two except by taste.

Touching, seeing, smelling and hearing are not able to distinguish salt from dirt, but taste is the simplest of tests.

This tells me that casual encounters from a distance do not bring out the uniqueness of the message Christians carry. It’s a deeper story than a few billboards, sound bytes, or catchy songs. To truly understand requires time, reflection, and community.

For this I believe hospitality involving meals is invaluable (this is where we enjoy salt the most). This creates the atmosphere in which the gospel can really shine (that’s a hint).

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash