SALT OF THE EARTH
My text comes from the greatest sermon ever preached, delivered by the greatest preacher who ever lived: the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew Chapters 5-7.
Salt is precious for the most basic of reasons: because without it you could not live! Did you know that your body contains approximately eight ounces of salt? It is vital for muscle contraction, for nerve impulses, for the exchange of water between your body’s cells and the fluid surrounding them, and for the digestion of protein. That’s why, if you’ll scan the side of a can of GatorAde or PowerAde you’ll see that one of the primary ingredients a sports drink is salt.
Not only that: did you know that salt is also essential for commerce? It is the most widely used of the five major raw materials utilized by industry. Salt is an essential component in the manufacture of everything from glass to mouthwash to pharmaceuticals to fuels.
But then, salt has always been highly valued. In ancient Israel covenants were sealed with the exchange of it (Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:9). In the Roman Empire, soldiers were paid with it (that’s where we get the word “salary”). In some cultures in the Far East, even today, newborn babies are rubbed with it to bring good fortune. And in Matthew 5:13 Jesus says to his disciples:
“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”
When those disciples heard that they immediately understood the importance, the dignity, the challenge of that phrase. Even today one of the highest compliments you can pay people is to say in admiration, “Those folks are the salt of the earth”. The Romans had a phrase in Latin, sort of a jingle, which went “Nil utilius sole et sale”: “There is nothing more useful than sun and salt”. Why did they esteem salt so highly in the first century?
SALT was the most common of PRESERVATIVES: How do you keep meat from going bad if you don’t have any Amana or KitchenAid refrigerators? You salt it! That’s why many of us who grew up in the south love salt-cured ham. Some of us had grandparents who didn’t have refrigerators when they were young!
SALT suggested PURITY: Salt is glistening white as you pour it from its container. Jesus has already told us, “Blessed are the PURE in heart, for they shall see God”.
SALT makes things BETTER. The diet in first century Judea was very much like the diet in many Third World countries today: monotonous. Tonight, when millions of Asian children ask, “What are we having for dinner, tonight, mom?” “Rice”. And that will be the answer for breakfast, too. And the menu will be the same tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next. That’s why salt was so esteemed: it could make those bland foods more flavorful. [You know, it is possible to buy salt-free, fat-free, low-calorie potato chips. And my reaction is, “What’s the point in eating them?” You might as well chew on cardboard!]
When Jesus told his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth”, he could have envisioned any of these things and ALL of these characteristics, but what the Lord himself emphasizes is the reverse: “If the salt LOSES its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”
Why was Jesus warning his disciples about the danger of LOSING their influence, their distinctive character? Because it is not an easy thing to remain “salty”- it is a challenging thing to maintain your discipleship in a difficult world. To stay “salty”, you have to balance four things: :
1. If Christians want to stay “salty,” they’ll have to be IN the WORLD but not OF the WORLD.
Jesus expects us to make a difference in our world! Salt doesn’t do any good so long as it remains in the shaker! It has to come into contact with something else if it is going to have any impact. That’s why our calling as followers of Jesus is to take the Beatitudes we’ve been learning about in recent weeks and put them to work; to roll up our sleeves, get out of our “holy huddles”, and get out and make a difference in our community!
We sometimes get discouraged because there is so much to be done, and so many obstacles to overcome. But it doesn’t take much salt to make a difference!
In an interview in Psychology Today, Robert Bellah, the famous sociologist who teaches at the University of California at Berkeley, said “We should not underestimate the significance of a small group of people who have a vision of a just and gentle world. The quality of a culture may be changed when 2 percent of its people have a new vision.”
If only ONE person refuses to laugh at a racist joke or a cutting comment about a colleague he can change the whole atmosphere in the office.
It only takes ONE person who is committed to being a “peacemaker” to move a ruptured relationship towards healing.
When ONE high school student who is “pure in heart” has the courage to speak up against sexual immorality he can impact every person in the locker room.
It only takes ONE person who is “meek” enough to refuse to respond to provocation to defuse a tense situation and prevent a fight.
When ONE person quietly refuses to listen to gossip because it is unfair to the target who is not there to defend herself, it can teach the whole Bunko party what it means to be “merciful”.
If we’re going to be “salt and light”, we’ll have to be IN our world. BUT: if Christians want to stay “salty”, they can’t be OF the WORLD. Suppose you opened that salt packet in your hand and you poured out white grains, and brown grains, and black specks. Would you put it on your food? Of course not! You don’t want contaminated salt- it has to be pure! Well, in the same way, Christians should be IN the world, but they should not allow the WORLD to be in them!
How do maintain our distinctiveness as disciples? How do we avoid losing our influence? Here’s a hint: the “you” in verses 13 and 14 is PLURAL. Jesus is speaking to the community of believers. Christianity is not for hermits, for “Lone Ranger” individuals. The person who sits at home on Sundays and says “I can be just as good as any of those folks down at church” has missed the point entirely.
If we’re going to be make a difference in our world AND at the same time prevent the world from making a difference in US, it is crucial to be WITH other Christians: Hebrews 10:24-25 “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.”
Here at College Avenue we don’t apologize for stressing the importance of fellowship, of being with other Christians, of being connected to a good church family, because we know that if you want to stay “SALTY”, if you don’t want to lose your influence, you need the support and encouragement of other Christians! Sooner or later the world will drag you down if you don’t have that spiritual support system every week to lift you up! So if you are one of the many “free-floating, unattached” believers who has never settled down in a good church home, listen to me: you can’t stay “salty” by yourself!
2. And the second balance we have to strike if we want to stay “salty”, is learning how to be good FOR the WORLD without “showing off” TO the WORLD.
Just as salt makes things better, Christians ought to present the very best picture of God to the world. David said “Taste and see that the Lord is GOOD” (Psalm 34:8), and we ought to leave folks with a good taste in their mouth when it comes to the Lord! Jesus calls us to LOVE our world, not condemn it; to be salt and light. Jesus came that we might have an “abundant life”. It is so sad that some folks don’t associate the words “church” and “joy”, or “Christianity” and “happiness”. For them religion is strictly a flavorless duty and a grudging necessity.
In his broadcast on 11/22/95 Paul Harvey told the true story of a call that was received by the Butterball Turkey Company hotline. The caller asked, “We were rummaging around in our freezer and we found a turkey that has been in there for 23 years. What we wanted to know is, do you think it would be safe to eat?” The lady at the Butterball Company said, “Well, if your freezer has been kept below zero degrees all these years, yes, I suppose it will be safe to eat. But, I have to tell you, by now the flavor has probably deteriorated, and I wouldn’t recommend eating it”. The caller replied, “Yes, that’s what we thought, too. We’ll just give it to the church.”
Isn’t that sad that people associate the church with the “leftovers” of life, with the second-best and shoddy? READ Isaiah 55:1-2 “eat what is good…the richest of fare”
Ah, but here’s the challenge, if we want to stay “salty” we must be willing to be good FOR the WORLD without “showing off” TO the WORLD!
“You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your FATHER in heaven”. (If people look at our good deeds, and all they see is US, something is wrong!)
Later on in the Sermon on the Mount, in Chapter 6, Jesus returns to this theme, and he has some strong words about religious leaders who only promote themselves! Because we will cover that material later in our series I won’t address it today except to say that nothing has really changed! Folks, go to a church that preaches Jesus!
Years later the apostle Peter put it this way: “live such good lives among the pagans that, although they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify GOD on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12).
Conclusion:
Jesus calls us to be SALT, and challenges us to stay “salty”
1. If Christians want to stay “salty”, they’ll have to be IN the WORLD but not OF the WORLD. How do we make a difference in our world without allowing the world to drag us down? By participating in the community of believers - by associating with folks who will lift us up- by being a part of the Lord’s church.
2. And the second balance we have to strike if we want to stay “salty, is learning how to be good FOR the WORLD without “showing off” TO the WORLD. When people see our good deeds, they shouldn’t see US, but Christ working in us.
We cannot make a difference in our world unless, and until, we have allowed Jesus to make a difference in US!