“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 6:13
I’ve been thinking a lot this about this verse as it proposes quite a conundrum for me. I can honestly say that I have never encountered a salt that is no longer salty. In my prior life in food service, unlike most every other ingredient after time, we never threw out the salt because it never lost its flavor. And we’d throw salt on the floor to counter a greasy spill and give our feet some added traction until we could make the time to clean up the mess. But this doesn’t help Jesus’ illustration either.
What did Jesus know that cooking professionals don’t? Granted 2000+ years ago, the sources of salt were not necessarily as pure as the table salt we find on our tables or in our cupboards today. I would guess that much of the salt used around ancient Palestine was harvested from evaporated pools of sea water or the waters of the Dead Sea. It is possible that such salts might be contaminated by other minerals, whose flavors could degrade over time.
Perplexed by Jesus’ statement, I decided to do some digging and indeed confirmed that Sodium Chloride (NaCl), in the pure form like we find in our salt shakers, doesn’t degrade. The chemical compound would have to be altered in some fashion for it to “lose its saltiness,” time alone wouldn’t be enough. The salt would have to be mixed with something else and then be changed in the process.
The good news for Jesus followers and Bible scholars is that the metaphor still offers insight into the life of faith, even those of us who get distracted by the science of creation. To be “the salt of the earth” means to remain unaffected by other influences. It’s an encouragement to be focused on the truth of God’s story – to know we are loved so that we might then love one another. The parts of life that don’t support such a reality then could ultimately change the outcome.
What are the influences in your life that might be affecting the integrity of your “saltiness” today? How about in the lives of those around you? What steps might you take to return to the core of your identity as a “salt of the earth” disciple? As you ponder these questions, be reminded that all the ingredients of a fantastic creation have already been assembled in you.
May God’s hope embrace you today. -Pastor Peter
Let us pray… God of goodness, you have filled our pantries and prepared our counters so that a wonderful creation may be at work within us. Bless the work of our hands, hearts, and minds so that we might be a blessing to the world. Amen.