Good for Nothing

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” (Matt 5:13)

Stop just a minute! Did Jesus just say that if I was not impacting my world as salt, that I was GOOD FOR NOTHING? Hmmmm – I think I'd better think it out again.

Jesus was famous for “hard sayings” but this one always gets me.

Let’s review:

Salt that is flavorless is good for nothing.
You are salt.
If you are not having an impact on your world, you are good for nothing. [Tweet This]

Yikes – that did not help.

Some of you don’t know me that well, and may not realize that I trying to use humor as a device to take the edge off some of Jesus strongest words, however He was not playing around. He could not be more serious.

As I said in my previous post: Salt is not something you do, it is something you are. So here Jesus is not so much yelling at us and telling us to be salty, but giving us a way to see if we are Salt!

Since salt is not something you do, but something you are, if we are not salty, then there is no hope for us – unless…

Ok – here it is – are you ready. If you are not salt, you must become salt. Your old – non-salty (aka good for nothing but the be trampled by the wrath of God) nature must be thrown out, and you must receive a new salty nature! You must be born again! (John 3:7)

If that is you, please check my post called “What Peace?” or “Repentace,the path to comfort” where you can find out how to get a new nature.

Thanks for reading. If these posts are doing you any good, let me know, and tell a friend.

Ben

3 Ways Salt has an Impact

You are the salt of the earth. (Matt 5:13)

You are salt. The applications here are pretty clear. Salt flavors,salt preserves and salt heals. The thing that distinguishes salt from any other substance is that it is salty. (thank you Dr. Obvious!) In earlier days people used to preserve fish in cases of salt. The fishermen would pack the fish in salt, and when they were ready to use the fish they would take it out of the salt. Next they would taste the salt. If it tasted like fish they would throw it out on the road where it would pack down into the “pavement” of the day. If it tasted like salt, they would simply pack the next catch of fish in the same salt.

In Mark’s gospel Jesus says “Salt is good.” This is in great dispute these days, and many say that Jesus is not giving us nutritional information here, but as I understand it you body needs salt – good salt – not processed salt, but natural sea salt.

Taste – Christians are supposed to flavor their world. There should be a marked difference in a group when you walk in. The whole group will "taste" better. I know that sounds funny, but when Jesus hung out with sinners (which He was known to do) He was certainly not drawn down to their debauchery, but rather the entire group was lifted up. He was followed all over not just for the miracles He did, though there was that, but also because He was good company. The woman at the well went away so moved by this man, that she brought the entire city of Samaria back to hear this Jew.

Preservative – We are called to be a preservative to our town, city, school, workplace, country and world. Think of the day God and Abraham discussed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra. Abraham negotiated with God from 50 down to 10 and finally God walked the few good people out of the city before their destruction. Twice in the book of Ezekiel God says that He was looking for intercessors to come to the defense of the nation, making a hedge. Our influence in society staves off the judgment of God, and can leave more time for our friends and loved ones to get properly salted!

Healing – I think of Jeremiah’s words to the prophets and priests of his day.

“And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. (Jer 6:14)”

As salt in our nation, we cannot let those who do not know God think they are in a safe and comfortable place. Salt, when applied to a wound stings, but that sting it the salt doing its work. Jude says it this way:

 “And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” (Jude 22,23)

As I say all this, I see that I am often a tasteless Christian, leaving the conversations I am in without adding any godly flavor. It is real easy for me to get all – What should I do to be more salty – but as I write this I am realizing that salt is salt because it is salty. Victory is in the being, not in the doing. [tweet this] Let’s get salty folks. The world needs salt that has some taste, some preservative power, and some healing sting.

What does it mean to you to be salty? Do you have victories to share? Are there places you see even now where you could be more salty?

Thanks for reading today!

Ben