Today's Scripture Reading (October 29, 2020): Matthew 5
The English phrase "Worth his (or her) salt" sounds a
little strange to the modern ear, even though the saying remains prevalent in
our contemporary 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 our culture, 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. Both were extremely
valuable. Our contemporary word "salary" comes from a Latin word
meaning "salt." Salt is one of our essential spices, one of
our fundamental tastes, and was necessary to preserve food for later
use. Salt is needed for life. Having said that, once used, salt is
worthless. The supply of salt needs to be continually renewed.
Salt was and still is, mined or obtained through the evaporation of
saltwater. 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 commanded to add "flavor"
to the world, probably because that is the most prominent role of salt in our
society. But in Jesus's 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 relatively 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 of regaining our saltiness is that
we can't become salty again. Once we have lost our saltiness, all we are suitable
for is to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 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 by being salty; 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: Matthew
6
See also Luke 14:34
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