Today’s Scripture
Reading (October 27, 2017): Luke 14
The English phrase “Worth his (or her) salt” sounds a little strange to
the modern ear, even though the saying remains prevalent in our conversations.
For most of us, the most common use of the word salt might be when we are
speaking to our doctors about lowering our blood pressure. In contemporary
society, salt has taken on a negative connotation. Like cigarettes, salt is
something our physicians wish that we would avoid.
But it has not always been that way. During the time of Jesus, soldiers were often paid in salt instead of gold, and
both were extremely valuable. Our contemporary word salary comes from the Latin
word meaning “salt.” Salt is one of the most
basic spices, one of our fundamental
tastes, and was essential for the preservation of food for later use. Salt is necessary for life.
Having said that, once used, salt was worthless. The supply of salt needed to be continually renewed. Salt was and still is, mined or obtained through the
evaporation of salt water. Salt production doesn’t just happen; it is something toward which effort had to be directed.
It isn’t an accident that Jesus called his followers “the salt of the
earth.” And I am convinced that it was not just one aspect of salt that Jesus meant with the comparison. We often seem to
point toward the fact that the Christian Church is to add “flavor” to the
world, probably because that is the most prominent role of salt in our society.
But In Jesus mind, that was likely the least appropriate comparison between
salt and the church. The Christian Church was designed to be a preservative for
the nations, and essential for life. Everything that the Church does should be life-giving. Unfortunately, that is not a role
that those outside of the church would
attribute to us. And that is our fault.
Part of the problem is that we have lost our saltiness. It has been
removed and watered down as we have bickered and gossiped about each other. We
have lost our saltiness as we seemed to fixate on what is fairly unimportant in our societies. We have
not loved as we should. We have criticized when we should have remained silent.
(And for those of you who might question that
statement, I really wish we could post Ephesians 4:29 on our desks, laptops,
refrigerators, bathroom doors, and any other surface that we confront during
our day. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of
your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their
needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”) And once we lose
our saltiness, how can we become salty again?
The answer is to the
question is that we can’t, but God can renew our saltiness. I think this is one
of the tasks of the Holy Spirit and one of the benefits of his presence in our
lives – to keep us salty. The Spirit makes sure that we are the life-giving presence
that we are designed to be and also allows us to be the preservative that our
culture needs. In the mind of Jesus, this is what is meant in being salty, and this is what it means to be a follower
of Christ. And it is not something that just happens, but something toward
which effort has to be directed.
Tomorrow’s Scripture
Reading: Luke 15
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