It was while preaching the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus proclaimed, \u201cYou are the salt of the earth\u201d (Matthew 5:13). On the simplest level, Christ\u2019s words are about salt as a flavor enhancer. He is telling us that as Christians we are to bring out the flavor of God in the world.<\/p>\n
When we are true to being the people God created us to be, when we are true to His calling, we bring out the essence of His goodness and make it more evident to ourselves and to others. When I am the salt of the earth \u201cmy soul glorifies the Lord\u201d (Luke 1:46), magnifying His presence so that others can sing, \u201cHow sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!\u201d (Psalm 119:103).<\/p>\n
Yet this requires purity on our part. We cannot be the salt of the earth unless we \u201cdraw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings\u201d (Hebrews 10:22). We must rid ourselves of all that interferes with our love of God, and follow the command, \u201cDo not love the world or anything in the world\u201d (1 John 2:15).<\/p>\n
We must separate out our worldly desires to keep from losing our flavor: The only time salt loses its flavor is when other minerals are mixed in with the sodium chloride. Thus the first step we can take toward being \u201cone who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god\u201d (Psalm 24:4) is to examine the elements mixed in with the salt in our lives.<\/p>\n
Cultivating these three traits will help make your<\/em> life a little \u201csaltier.\u201d<\/p>\n 1. Transparent.<\/strong> 2. Trustworthy. <\/strong> 3. Encouraging to others.<\/strong> Why not begin this very day to live a life full of the flavor of God, so that through us others can \u201cTaste and see that the Lord is good\u201d (Psalm 34:8)?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was while preaching the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus proclaimed, \u201cYou are the salt of the earth\u201d (Matthew 5:13). On the simplest level, Christ\u2019s words are about salt as a flavor enhancer. He is telling us that as Christians we are to bring out the flavor of God in the world. When we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":30572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[396],"tags":[14],"ppma_author":[639],"class_list":["post-23865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deepen-your-faith","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe person who is truly salty is one through whom the light of Christ can shine easily and about whom Jesus would say, \u201cHere truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit\u201d (John 1:47). We can pray, Lord, help me rid my heart of all guile.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThe person worth his salt is one who has followed the command to \u201crid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind\u201d (1 Peter 2:1). We can pray, Christ, open my eyes to the envy and hypocrisy of my heart, and keep my lips from unkind words.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nTo be the salt of the earth means to see in others what Christ sees in them. \u201cStrive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace\u201d (2 Corinthians 13:11). We can pray, Jesus, help me be an example of all that you want us all to be, in word and deed.<\/em><\/p>\n