Salty

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  Matthew 5:13

Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 5 that as Christians, we are to be salt and light to the world.  Last week we talked about how we can be light to the world.  This week we will look at the command to be salt and just what that means.  Salt can literally transform any recipe from bland and tasteless to flavorful and savory.  How can we as Christians transform this world?

The Possibility of Losing Effectiveness - "but if the salt has lost its savor"
This is a hard concept for us to grasp because we have never tasted salt that has lost its flavor.  Our salt today is made differently from the salt in Jesus’ day.  Then, the salt was collected from deposits left by the Dead Sea as it dried.  As it was left and exposed to the elements, it sometimes lost its flavor.  This is a great illustration to what can happen to us if we neglect our relationship and walk with Christ.  In this situation a Christian is still a Christian just as salt is still salt, but both have lost their effectiveness and purpose.  

How Can Salt Become Unsalty?

Just like the salt lying on the shore of the Dead Sea can lose its saltiness because of the elements, a Christian can lose their saltiness because of exposure to the “elements” as well.  By exposure without application - use causes release of power and lack of use causes staleness.  

There are many things that can cause a Christian to lose their “salt”.  They can become involved in sinful activity, involved with the wrong kind of people or they can simply move away from Christ because of depression or staleness.  Any of these things can contribute to this happening.  We have to be vigilant and careful.  We need to protect ourselves and our hearts.  We need to guard against Satan’s strongholds.  These can cause weakness in us and Satan loves that.  He loves nothing more than for us to be ineffective in the kingdom of God. It is challenging but God has called us to be “in the world but not of the world.”

A Christian who does not find specific application for his life will slowly lose his purpose. Being overinvolved as well can cause burnout fast and cause one to suddenly want to be involved in nothing.  When the Christian loses his ability to contain and share the attitude and purpose of God, he/she is no longer salty.

Remember Your First Love
Another thing we can do to protect ourselves against becoming unsalty is to remember what made us salty in the first place.  Revelation 2:4-5 says But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first.. This verse speaks of the Ephesians and their moving away from the zeal and ardor they had when they embraced their salvation, understanding their former state, and now their new life in Christ.  But due to some false teachers, they lost their focus on Christ and their devotion to Him.  

Keep your relationship with Christ a priority in your life.  This will help to safeguard you against losing your saltiness.  Remember your devotion and commitment to Him when you first became a Christian.  Remember the fire you had burning inside and the desire to soak up everything about Him.  To be salt for the earth is to have that fire within- to set things on fire around us, to keep the light burning brightly.  If we do this as his disciples, we, too, will also be “light of the world”.  

Scripture to Claim:

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand o