In South Africa, the most popular flavor of potato chips is without a doubt salt n' vinegar chips. Now I know what you are thinking, we too have salt and vinegar chips in Sweden, but frankly they are not the same. It would be like comparing cheap ice-cream to Häagen-Dazs super premium ice cream. While the tanginess, crispness and even the thickness of the chip makes a difference it is without a doubt the saltiness that really captivates the taste buds and keeps one coming back for more.
This reminds me of a statement that Jesus made in Matthew 5:13 in which He points out: “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.” Essentially what Jesus is saying is that salt is good for flavoring. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the rubbish pile. The only thing left to do with it is to throw it away (see Luke 14:34–35). In other words what good is salt that isn't salty? And what good is a Christian who doesn't live as a Christian, a Christian who wants to just blend in and never speak out about what is true, never share the gospel of Jesus Christ with other people?
What we need to remember is that salt in the first century was something more than a mere seasoning. Back in the time of Jesus salt was an extremely valuable commodity – so valuable, in fact, that the Romans would sometimes be paid in salt. Hence the expression in English, “He is not worth his salt”. In fact this is where the word salary is a derived from. If someone “was not worth his salt” they hadn't earned what they were paid. So when Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), He was saying, “You are very valuable in the plan of salvation. You can make a difference in the lives of people you meet”.
In other words a little bit of salt can change something. It can enhance the flavor (it can even stop decay and preserve food). And just as salt makes a difference, one Christian in a dark place also can make a difference. Salt not only stimulates the taste buds but it also makes us thirsty. Christians who are living their lives the way they ought to will stimulate in others a thirst for Jesus Christ – the living water.
So we may say that salt is not only valuable but it actually makes a difference in our lives. Salt stimulates both our taste buds but more importantly our thirst. So be a salty Christian. Jesus is calling His followers to be His representatives in our culture. To make a difference in the lives of those people we rub shoulders with. We are called to add some flavor to our culture. The bottom line is that If you are loving God more than anyone or anything else, if you are taking up the cross and following Jesus, then you are going to make a difference. You will impact your culture.
I am convinced that the first-century church turned their world upside down because they genuinely lived this way. Perhaps this is one reason why the 21st-century church is not turning our world upside down, because, if we are honest with ourselves we would admit that not enough people are living this way. We have many members on the church role, but we have very few disciples. Jesus said: “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.” Remember, if you are willing to daily surrender your life to God and take up your cross and follow Jesus He can most certainly use you to make a difference in the world!
God bless
Berny