Ok. You are probably thinking, “Well I like salt (or don’t like it), but you lost me on the second part. How can I be salt?” That’s a great question. You see, Jesus said, “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 underfoot. Matthew 5:13
What he was talking about was the ways in which salt works as a preservative. If a person was needing to preserve a food for example, and the salt no longer worked to accomplish that, then, he was saying, “What good is it?”
I sat with a friend recently as he talked about how his group of closest church friends seemed to no longer believe many of the teachings of the Bible. They were allowing the culture to shape what they were believing. He was shocked at how they had allowed society to transform their values to some that were actually contrary to God’s Word. He therefore posed the question, “What are we doing here?” meaning, if we are going to be swept away by the tides of the times, as opposed to anchored to God’s principles, then how are we still salt? If we have lost our preservative effects and we no longer impact the culture with God’s values – are we no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot?”
While I know the question may seem harsh, but is it any less true? My friend’s question of, “What are we doing here?” is a valid one. It is worth contemplating. I am here to make a difference and influence the culture around me, not to be changed by the culture. How about you?