Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13).
A very important truth when reading a passage in the Bible is to really pay attention to whom the scriptures are speaking. We have all heard of the Sermon on the Mount, one of and possibly Jesus’ most well-known sermon. Christ is not preaching to the multitudes that had been following Him but to His little band of disciples (learners) in the seclusion of a mountain. He’s speaking to Christians, hence this sermon isn’t for the lost, but for the person that is a Christ follower.
He makes the statement that we are salt. How are we to understand that? We all know about salt, don’t we? When you and I would go out to eat, in an era a long time ago, there would be little containers on the table with a white substance inside. We tell our kids and grandkids about it, “Back in the day, Junior, there used to be shakers on these tables…” Now, you have to ask for that little container or packet with the white substance. We seldom think about salt because it is inexpensive, but that wasn’t the case during the days in which Jesus spoke these words. It was used not just to add flavor to a meal, but in the food preservation process. The idea of refrigeration was born in the mid-1750’s. It would be developed over the next 150 years and finally in 1913 it was introduced into homes in America. Even then, only the wealthy could afford this new appliance. My older uncles often talked about having to salt meat when they were boys in Southeast Georgia because they didn’t have a refrigerator. One other point to remember is that salt during ancient times was a valuable commodity. Roman soldiers received part of their pay in salt payments. When you and I get paid we get paid a salary. That word has its roots in the salt payments of the Romans.
What are we to be like with the culture and times we just looked at and reading again the words of Christ? “You are the salt of the earth.” It simply means that we are to flavor the world wherever we travel. People ought to be blessed by the behaviors we exhibit. We are to be salt that preserves morality and goodness in our society. The best citizens in this country and the world ought to be Christians. You may be and probably will be misunderstood, but salt is salt. Also, Christians are valuable, especially when we are salt that is of good quality. But if the salt has lost its savor, it is only good to be cast out and thrown away as useless. Living for Christ produces influence if we are the salt Christ wants us to be.
Kent Hughes (MacArthur Commentary on Matthew) tells a fitting story about President Woodrow Wilson’s visit to a barber shop one time, which demonstrates the effect of salt:
“I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done to me I was aware I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D. L. Moody was in that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular affect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name, but they knew something had elevated their thoughts, and I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship.”