I have been talking about being salt with my prison class a lot lately. In fact, the sages teach about being salt quite often. To understand what is meant by being salt, we need to look at what it was used for two thousand years ago. It was a preservative that could make something better.
The food at the prison is pretty bad, so I asked the group if they tend to use a lot of salt. Everyone of them responded with a definite yes. They add salt because it makes it more palatable. Many Jews believe that God chose them so that they could be salt to the world. Some go so far as to say that it is their responsibility to help fix the world. Make it more palatable, so to speak. We as believers should make that our responsibility as well. We need to be salt in this unsavory world.
But how do we become salt to the world? Yeshua/Jesus said:
Matt 5:13 (NIV) "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
One of the most important parts about being salt to the world is for us not to lose our saltiness. If we become the "flavor" of the world, how can we make it different. The recent financial crisis is a perfect example of this. The world had become all about living beyond its means. If you could not afford the house you wanted, get an "interest only" loan or an ARM. Buy now, pay later had become the motto. But for people who have saved their money, this financial crisis has presented an unbelievable opportunity because everything is on sale! We are called to be good stewards of our money and if we have done that, then we are now in a very good position for being salt to the world.
My question is are you and your congregation in the financial position to be salt to the world? If not, then why?
I came up with a quote a few years back that I think spoke to this:
Most people live well beyond their means, yet well below their God-given ability.
Shalom, Jeff.
