All we hear these days in the field of medicine is just how bad salt is for people and all the strides we must take to eliminate it from our diets. When I was in training we thought it good to have our patients limit their total daily sodium intake to four grams [basically not adding salt to their food]. The most recent guidelines circa 2011 have cut that down to 1.8 grams per day which translates into an active avoidance of foods containing sodium. But in Matthew 5, we see that Jesus has an altogether different perspective on merits of salt in our society and could that perhaps be why "the world" is so desperately trying to avoid it? Hmmm.
The Beatitudes of Jesus are sometimes called the "Beautiful Attitudes" because they describe the inner character of those who are members of the kingdom of God. Realizing that the Beatitudes are essentially internal, we might be tempted to think that they can be lived out in isolation -- away from the world that is so contradictory to the things of God. But actually it is impossible to live these eight norms of the kingdom in private. They are powerfully social and outward when put to work. That is why Christ crowns them with two brilliant and searching metaphors [salt and light] that tell us how those who live the Beatitudes must relate to the world. The first follows:
"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 by men" [Matthew 5:13].
Since Jesus Christ spoke these words early in His ministry, when He had only a few poor, uneducated followers, His words no doubt appeared to some as presumptuous and even absurd. "You, you alone, are the salt of the earth -- not just of Palestine, but of the whole earth." The Lord was essentially saying that His disciples would perform a vast universal task that would affect all mankind. He was expressing a strange but great confidence in His followers. Stranger still, we know that they and their followers accomplished just that, despite their myriad shortcomings and inconsistencies.
As we examine this passage of Scripture, we will see an unforgettable description of the church's mission in a fallen world. To begin with, the church is to be a salty church. What did Jesus mean when He said this? Fundamental to understanding His meaning is the fact that in the ancient world the primary function of salt was its use as a preservative. There were no ice machines in those days and refrigeration was beyond men's wildest dreams. The only way to preserve meat then was to salt it down or soak it in a saline solution. In fact, this was common practice right into the twentieth century in the more remote areas of the world.
In view of this, the underlying implication of Jesus' saying, "You are the salt of the earth" is that the world tends toward decomposition and is actually rotting away. He was under no illusion about the world apart from Himself. When the world is left to itself, it festers and putrefies, for the germs of evil are everywhere present and active. This is the consistent teaching of Scripture and Biblical history. From the Garden to the Flood to a second chance and then to Sodom and Gomorrah, we live in a world that constantly tends toward decay. Moreover, this principle applies to both the physical as well at the spiritual world and is so well known that it has been codified as the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
This suggests to us the function of the church: The church, as salt, functions as a retardant to decay and a preservative in a disintegrating world. The church must be rubbed into the world -- into its rotting flesh and wounds so that it might be preserved. There is both a positive and negative side to the church's role as society's preservative. On the negative side, the presence of salty Christians retards decay simply because their lives serve as a reproach to the sin of those they are around. We all know there are certain people in whose presence a filthy story is naturally told, and there are others before whom no one would think of telling such a story. The salty believer is not self-righteous or condemning, but his or her life makes ungodly conversation seem shabby and inappropriate. And there is also a positive aspect. Not only are our lives meant to reprove evil, but they are also meant to elicit the best from those around us. To live a life that is so salted that others are drawn to God and want to live lives like ours is indeed beautiful!
In biblical times, as today, salt was not only a preservative, but also a spice, a condiment. Our faith is what brings spice and zest to life. The bland is made savory, and the unpalatable become a delight! Believers should be the ones who live life to its fullest ... they should write the best books, compose the best music, work the hardest, be the finest craftsmen, be the most courteous, and also the best students. All of which points to another result of being salty -- salt creates thirst. Jesus made people thirsty for God. Whenever anyone, whose heart wasn't hardened by selfish ambition and pride, whether a Pharisee like Nicodemus or outcasts like Mary Magdalene and Zacchaeus, that person became thirsty for God. Are we salty enough to make those around us thirsty for Jesus?
Also consider the fact that it doesn't take much salt to make its presence known. Just one bite at dinner can tell us whether the food has been salted or not. Just a pinch of salt goes a long way. Consider the example of William Wilberforce, whose life became the subject of the recent film Amazing Grace, and who virtually single-handedly brought about the end of the slave trade in England. Dwarfed by a chronic intestinal ailment [something I very much can personally relate to over the past 24 hours ... yet, he lived with it day in and day out for decades] he outwardly did not appear to be a person who would accomplish anything with his life. However, the English historian Boswell wrote of him, after listening to one of his speeches, "I saw a shrimp mount the table; but as I listened, he grew and grew until the shrimp became a whale." Tiny, elfish, misshapen, he was salt to British society, not only in bringing preservation but also enticement to Christ by his beautiful life. A little salt will make its presence felt.
Lastly, I wonder if there can be such a thing as a desalted church? Jesus indicates this is a possibility: " ... if the salt loses its saltiness. Some translations render this as "tasteless." In actuality, salt is an extremely stable compound and does not become tasteless. The consensus of most scholars is that Jesus is referring to it adulteration or dilution. The point being, it is dangerously easy for Christians to lose their salty, preserving influence in the world. While many believers remain pungent and salty, there are others who are virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding culture. I do not think that any of us can look at American or European Christianity or at our local churches or perhaps even into our very own hearts without admitting that the possibility of saltless, insipid, bland Christianity is very real.
The reality is, to use a different analogy, if we are not heating the world, the world is freezing us. We export our influence on those around us, but if there are more imports than exports, if there are not greater influences going out from us than are coming in, we will become like the world. If we are not salting the world, the world is making us rot. The great tragedy is that often the world does us more harm than we do it good! The Christian life that has lost its saltiness is good for nothing at all! There is only one thing to do with it -- throw it away and walk on it. We see testimony of this in church history. We search in vain for the once-great churches of Asia Minor with their flourishing parishes. The churches of Corinth and Ephesus are all but nonexistent. We look in vain for the church of North Africa where the great Augustine ministered. Seeing this, we must dispense with any illusion that the churches of western Christianity are eternal. The reality is that much of organized Christianity is already falling because it has lost its pungency. The best evangelical traditions are not immune from inconsistency, preaching that is barely Biblical, and a status quo mentality. Yet with all of this, Christ's expression of this metaphor is essentially positive. Jesus said, "You [emphatic: you alone] are the salt of the earth." He says, "I believe in you. I have called you." Jesus believes that we can have a healing, preserving influence on our own society as well as the world. He believes that we can bring flavor to life -- that we can make the world thirsty for Him. And so should we under the power of His Holy Spirit.
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