You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
Our bodies contain salt and without it our hearts would not beat, our blood would not flow and
our muscles would not function properly. At the time of Jesus, salt was so precious that it was used, at least in part, to pay workers. The word salary comes from the Latin salarium, a word for salt. Every year Americans use 85 million tons of salt for their food and chemical industries.
In ancient times salt was rubbed on newborn children, used to seal covenants and sprinkled on surfaces. We use it as a preservative, a seasoning or a fuel. There are so many metaphors for salt. In ancient times it was a metaphor for wisdom. We say:
- someone is worth her salt
- take it with a grain of salt
- below the salt
- it is like rubbing salt in a wound
- salt away
- off to the salt mine
- They are salt of the earth people
Salt was important in ancient times and it is important today. What do you think Jesus meant when he said, "You are the salt of the earth"?
Rather than meaning down to earth and humble I think Jesus meant for the salt of the earth to be provocative and nonconforming, like He was.
ReplyDeleteHow bland the world would be without saltiness! Everyone and everything alike? Jesus meant for us to add our unique flavor to life! You are the spice that is needed in this dish to make it delicious!