We’re already two-thirds of the way through the year 2020 and, to say the least, this has been a challenging year. No matter where you turn, there seems to be some type of crisis; economic decline, a pandemic, racial unrest, and as of today, a hurricane described as un-survivable is due to hit south Texas and there’s a mandatory evacuation. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.
As this year trickles along, I think everyone has asked themselves the question “What can I do?” If you’re like me, you have a great desire to help in some way, but don’t always know what to do or how to do it. So, what do we do? What part do we play in making our world a better place…what’s our role? That’s a great question, and Jesus gives us a great answer.
Jesus tells us that we are called to penetrate society. This is more than leading someone to Christ, but we are to give hope in seemingly hopeless times. Jesus made this clear as He spoke the famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. In verse 13 He states, “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’s a simple statement with a very strong impact. What does Jesus mean by this statement? Why does He compare us to salt? These are all good questions that help us to answer the internal question, “What can I do?”
This powerful statement of Jesus starts out with the word ‘You’. He was speaking to His followers, and He’s still speaking to you and I today. This clearly tells us that Jesus has exclusively given us the responsibility of impacting the world. Why us and no one else? Because His followers have the spiritual resources not only to do God’s work, but to do it God’s way!
It’s not the responsibility of the government, the school system, or political parties to do what God has told His people to do. We are to inform culture from a biblical perspective, not a political one. Informing culture is much more than telling them, it includes modeling the lifestyle. That’s why Jesus calls us ‘salt’.
Salt has preserving quality. During my grandmother and great-grandmother’s days, they used to salt down their food for preservation due to lack of refrigeration. Salt naturally repels bacteria. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “he’s not worth a grain of salt!” Well, now you know where that came from.
Salt was so valuable that the Roman soldiers were paid with salt; it was often traded ounce for ounce with gold. So, let’s go back to the question, “What can I do?” The answer is: Remain salty!
Just to show you how important it is for Believers to remain ‘salty’, think about the event of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis chapter 18. Abraham bargains with God about not destroying the city if there’s righteous people there. Abraham starts by asking ‘if there’s fifty righteous people in the city, God, will you not destroy it?’ And if you remember, the number slowly decreases to ten righteous people.
Whenever we read or hear that story, we’re immediately drawn to the despicable sin of Sodom…think about the numerous sermons, teachings, and references we’ve heard about the greatness of Sodom’s sin. But Sodom wasn’t destroyed solely because if it’s sin, it was destroyed because there weren’t enough ‘salty’ people there. That’s how important ‘saltiness’ is to God.
So again, what can you do? The best thing we can do is what Jesus obligates us to do…remain salty. It’s not enough to just eradicate sin, but it’s absolutely necessary for Believers to fulfill their God-given responsibilities…it’s two-fold.
Changing our world starts with being salt within our own community…it’s easy to be salty around other salty people, but Jesus calls to be the salt of the earth. In what ways can your saltiness improve so that it won’t become tasteless as Jesus mentions? Be challenged to live a life that impacts others for Christ!
Stay safe, stay healthy, and be blessed!