”“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Matthew 5:13New International Version (NIV)
Matthew 5:13 ~ You are the salt of the earth
You are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13) is a metaphor symbolizing how Christians should influence the world. Like salt, believers possess properties that enable them to affect the people who are around them.
One of the primary uses of salt in the ancient world was as a preservative (since there was no refrigeration). Salt was used to keep foods like meat from going bad (decaying).
Therefore, Christians keep the world from decaying by practicing and promoting righteousness. Their absence would make the world decay fully.
Salt is also used for seasoning food. And well-seasoned food is both tasty and inviting.
Meaning that when the world looks at believers and sees how different they are, it should provoke them to want to be believers. When the world sees how believers handle the issues of life with joy, and without complaining, with contentment, blessing their enemies, then they should be drawn to Christ. And when the world observes Christians suffer willingly for righteousness’ sake, then it should draw them to Jesus.
The Beatitudes
Remember, Christ presented this verse on the backdrop of the Beatitudes. In Matthew 5:3-10, Christ had already emphasized the character traits of true believers.
Therefore, God calls every Christian to be an influence on the world around them. This is because to ‘be salt’ means to deliberately seek to influence the people in your life by demonstrating to them the unconditional love of Christ through your good deeds.
When you and I deviate from the Spirit-led and Spirit-dependent lifestyle, the distinctions between ourselves and the rest of the world cease to exist and our testimony becomes ineffective. And by Christ’s words, we’ll have lost our “saltiness” or value before God and the world.
We can only maintain our “saltiness” by remaining focused on Christ and being obedient to Him. Your dependence on Christ is what will keep you valuable to God and the world.
Prayer/Blessing
Jesus, please help me not to compromise. Help me to continue to be obedient to you. This is my prayer in Your Name, Amen.
May you be the salt that you are called to be. Amen.
