Faithful on Fridays Blog

Living a Salty Life

When I was growing up I was accustomed to good, flavorful food and since my dad was a chef he taught me the value of good cooking for my family. My two sons also enjoy cooking, in fact, one wants to join Giada’s (Food Network) family! 

As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount we find Jesus using the metaphor of salt, a food enhancer, to declare ways we can influence our world. 

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. Matthew 5:13 NLT

Jesus gave believers a warning: stay salty. What exactly did He mean?

Consider these natural attributes (the lower story) of salt:

• Salt is purifying, it’s color is even pure white.
• Salt brings out pungency and is used as a flavor enhancer or seasoning.
• Salt has penetrating, preservative power.
• Salt is used as an antiseptic that cleanses and delays decay and deterioration.
• Salt is invisible when dissolved but you taste it’s presence.
• Salt has healing property (2 Kings 2:19-22).

Since Jesus declared believers to be the salt of the earth and remain salty it’s necessary to consider the spiritual attributes (the upper story) of salt. 

• Spiritual salt helps you live your life in purity, flee temptation, and maintain a pure heart.
• You influence your world with the salty boldness, the pungency, of the Holy Spirit. Your life lived in Christ will be a seasoning, a flavor enhancer, to others. 
• When you allow the Holy Spirit to penetrate every area of your life, like salt, He will preserve, guard, and protect you on every rocky path you walk. 
• If there are areas in your life that seem to be breaking down or disintegrating, the salt of the Holy Spirit will cleanse you and bring forth new life cells.
• Since salt is invisible the way you know that God is working in you is by your changed heart and attitudes causing new responses: we’re different. When we’re salted our words reflect grace and peace (Col. 4:6) toward others.
• The healing that we need is brought about by salting our life with self-sacrifice and humility. There’s no other way.

God actually  established a Covenant of Salt with His people as described in Lev. 2:13 and Num. 18:19. It’s a foreshadow of the offering we give to God: ourselves. He’s serious about salting our lives and living in His peace and wholeness because He knows man’s heart; we lean toward self-centeredness instead of others-centeredness.

Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other. Mark 9:50 NLT

That’s pretty clear. Let’s live our lives as a salty-sacrifice to God. It’s the higher life; it’s kingdom living.