Salt

I remember being confused one time when our family had gone out to a restaurant for some special occasion.   I only remember that it was a special occasion because dad was dressed up in his suit and tie. We both needed to use the restroom, so we found the men's room before leaving for our next destination of the evening.  When I came out of the stall, I found my dad picking up paper towels that previous people had left on the counter, dropped on the floor, and had thrown at the garbage can and missed.  After picking up the trash, he proceeded to grab another clean paper towel and wipe down the counter which had soap drippings and water splashes all over.  I remember the scene vividly because he was doing all this work in his suit and tie - dressed up for a special occasion.

I don't know if I said anything to him, or I just stood and stared at the scene as it unfolded.  In either case, he began explaining his actions.  "You see what people do?  They leave a mess behind.  I don't understand that.  I always try to leave any place better than the way I found it."  He proceeded to finish wiping down the counter, washed his hands, then dried them with a fresh towel.  When he had finished and was drying his hands, I washed mine, grabbed a fresh towel, dried them, and noticed I had spilled a little soap as well...so I cleaned it up before leaving.

You are the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13a NIV)

This statement from Jesus never really made much sense to me in the early years of my walk.  Preachers would preach on the topic and I've read many commentaries on it as well.  For whatever reason, it still didn't really click...until recently.

In a day without refrigeration, salt wasn't just about making food taste good.  It was a preservative.  We weren't able to throw meat in the refrigerator or freezer, so it needed to be eaten right away or preserved with salt.  While the people of Jesus' day didn't understand all the details we know about bacteria, they knew that salt preserved the meat, keeping it from going bad.  Salt protected the food from spoiling.

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 5:13b NIV)

When we are the salt of the earth, we protect our environment from spoiling.  We act, like salt does, as a spiritual assassin for sin in and around us.  We find ourselves saying things like, "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk that way around me," "I see why you think that is funny, but I don't find humor in tearing someone down like that," or "That outfit is really distracting in a work environment.  Would you please choose something more appropriate."  We all do things to "spoil" the environment around us.  A person who is salt, however, will stop things from spoiling in themselves and in the environment around them.

When we back up a little in the chapter where Jesus calls us "salt," we find that he is walking us through a list of teaching we often call the "beatitudes."  He tells us when we should consider ourselves "blessed."  The list is unexpected.  We are blessed when we are poor in spirit, mourn, and are meek.  We are blessed when we are merciful, peacemakers, and pure in heart  We are blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Oh, yeah, people may not like it when we love God so much that it begins affecting our environment.  So, we are blessed when they persecute us for walking together with Him.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12 NIV)

Jesus doesn't say we are blessed when we are persecuted for doing evil.  We are blessed when we are persecuted for loving Him.  This is when He tells us to be the salt of the earth.  He tells us that, as His followers, we will affect the environment around us.  We will love God with our minds, hearts, souls, and strength.  Our love for Him will reflect in our words and our deeds.  Our love for Him will effect our environment.  We will leave every place better than we found it.  We will be salt.