Jesus said in Matthew 5:13,
“You are the
salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be
seasoned? It
is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot
by men.” Salt
has purifying, preserving and antiseptic qualities. In the
Lord’s teaching, it
is symbolic of that spiritual health and vigor essential to Christian
virtue and
purity that counteracts the corruption that is in the world.
How “salty” are we as Christians? Do our lives
reflect
our Lord with those purifying, preserving, antiseptic or cleansing
qualities? How
“salty” are our hearts, our speech, our example and
our influence?
How “salty” is our heart? Our heart reveals what
goes
on in the core of our being, the source from which everything flows.
Solomon
said, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he”
(Proverbs 23:7a). We are the products
of the way we think. In speaking to the Pharisees on one of many
occasions,
Jesus said, “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak
good things? For
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew
12:34).
God’s Word is the only power that can save and
transform us, but the orientation of our hearts is a human choice. We
not only
have to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, but we must also
change
the source of our thinking. “With my whole heart I have
sought You; Oh, let me
not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I
might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:10-11).
How “salty” is our speech? We use words to comfort,
to
praise, to encourage, to calm, to explain, to apologize. Unfortunately
we also
use words to brag, to complain, to threaten, to lie, to deceive, to
gossip just
to name a few. Of the many things that we do and can do with words,
Paul tells
us to do something very specific: “Let your speech always be
with grace
seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each
one” (Colossians
4:6). Notice that he says our speech is to be seasoned
with salt.
Psalm 19:14 says; “Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my strength
and my
redeemer.” That Scripture is easy to read and easy to
understand. As we think
back over what we have said to people in the last 24 hours, have we
been practicing
the dictates of this verse? It does not do any good to know what the
verse says,
or be able to quote it, or even to know where it is found, if we are
not
obeying it! Our words and actions must match! We
must be walking the walk and talking the talk!
How “salty” is our example? After Jesus had washed
the
apostles’ feet, He told them, “If I then, your Lord
and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I
have given you an
example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John
13:14-15).
What was Jesus teaching them? It was a lesson in
service to other people. In the judgment scene of Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus
speaks of service to other people. He said
when He was hungry, we fed Him; when He was thirsty, we gave Him
something to
drink; when He was a stranger, we took Him in; when He was naked, we
clothed
Him; when He was sick, we visited Him; when He was in prison, we came
to Him. He
concludes by saying when we as His followers did all of these things to
the
least of His brethren, we did them to Him! These are acts that
exemplify our
“saltiness”!
How “salty” is our influence? When our
“saltiness” has
lost its flavor of influence, there has been a breakdown in our walk,
or our
talk, or both. When this breakdown occurs, our influence to those in
the world
can be severely damaged or destroyed! Some people in the world live in
the most
ungodly ways, and unfortunately some of us who wear the name
“Christian” are living
the same way.
We are now living in a world where sin has been given
new names. The person one is living with, but not married to, is now
called the
“significant other” or the
“partner.” Stealing and cheating in all of its
forms
is now called “creative bookkeeping.” Lying and
cursing is now called “freedom
of speech.” Indecent dress is now called “being
scantily clad.” Fornication and
adultery is now called “having an affair” or
“an open marriage.” Incest and
sodomy is now called “illicit sex.” Homosexuals are
now called “gays” and
“lesbians.”
Disobedience and disrespect for parents is now called
“exercising one’s
rights.” Sadly, the new names for sin are virtually endless!
We as faithful, submissive, obedient Christians
recognize all such behavior and practices as violations of
God’s will for those
whose lives are to glorify Him. We as Christians must guard against
these and hundreds of other worldly
practices. “We
know that whoever is born of God does not sin, but he who has been born
of God guards himself, and the
wicked one does
not touch him” (1 John
5:18). In
Romans 12:2,
Paul pleads with
us, “And do not be conformed to
this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Are we as Christians as “salty” as Scripture
dictates
in our marital relationships? Do we as Christians understand that
having
children outside of the marriage bond is sinful and wrong (1
Corinthians 7:1-2)?
As Christians, do we believe and understand that all liars will have
their part
in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8)? Have
we as
Christians embraced the eternal truth that those who practice the works
of the
flesh shall not inherit the kingdom of God
(Galatians
5:19-21)? Do we know that we are epistles known and read of all men (2
Corinthians 2:1-3)? Do we as Christians realize we lose our
“saltiness” and the
Word of God is blasphemed when we behave just like people in the world
(Titus
2:3-5)?
After giving very stern warnings about who could end up
in hell, Jesus told His disciples, “For everyone will be
seasoned with fire,
and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if
the salt
loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and
have
peace with one another” (Mark 9:49-50). How
“salty” are we as Christians?
