Salty
What does it mean to you to be the salt of the earth?
Verse of the Day
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.”
Today’s Devotional
I’ve read this verse many times over the years. Today, I read it with fresh eyes and ask the Holy Spirit to help me to understand what Jesus is trying to teach me so that I can obey. Because of John 8:31 where Jesus says, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.”
What did Jesus mean when He said that we are the salt of the earth? After reading several commentaries, with MANY interpretations, I decided to simplify it and think about who Jesus was talking to at the time. The Bible says it was a crowd, which was probably made up of regular Jewish people who wanted to hear what this Teacher had to say. These people likely used salt for two main purposes: to flavor food and to preserve food from decay. If Jesus says we are to be salt, then we are to bring flavor to the earth (or more likely the people of the earth). How do I bring flavor to this world? The thing that immediately comes to mind is kindness, but I’m sure it could mean many things. What can we do to enhance the lives of others that way salt enhances a food’s flavor? I lose my “flavor” when I do nothing that benefits others. Andrew Wilson writes, “We’re intended to spread throughout the world and enhance it, adding flavor to things that would be bland, drawing out the blessings of whatever is good, and providing a contrast by being distinct and different.” Are we doing that?
If salt preserves food, and Jesus tells us to be salt, then am I doing anything to preserve the goodness of God and help to preserve the eternity of my fellow man from destruction? Wilson also wrote, “Disciples of Jesus, in this sense, are sent into the world to keep it from decay, preserving its goodness and preventing it from becoming corrupted or ruined, which is a helpful thing to bear in mind as we go to work every day. Salt does not just savor. It saves.” We can be willing to share the reason for our hope which can serve as an invitation to others to accept the love and salvation of Christ. (1 Peter 3:15) I lose my “flavor” when I am not willing to share the love of Jesus with others.
One last note about salt. On the Gospel Coalition website, I found this little nugget: “[Jesus] was alluding, not to the tang of salt, but to its value. Back then salt was highly prized as a preservative of food – so precious that it was used as money. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt, giving us the word “salary,” derived from the Latin word for salt – “sal.”” Jesus is always reminding us of our value. He is teaching me today that I am valuable to God and also to “the earth”. So are you. It’s time that we accept our God-given value and enhance the lives of others. Let’s go be salty.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Think of someone who has enhanced the “flavor” of your life. What did they do for you? How can you do those same kinds of things for someone else?
How can you add “flavor” to someone’s life today?
How can you draw out the blessings of something good? What does that mean for you?
What can you do to preserve the spiritual life of someone in your life?
What is Jesus teaching YOU today?