IMPACT AS SALT (4)

“Oh, TASTE and see that the LORD is GOOD; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him” – Psalm 34:8

Believers in Christ command IMPACT as SALT by giving Taste to Life: “Oh, TASTE and see that the LORD is GOOD; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him” (Psa.34:8). Just as salt is relevant to the good taste of a meal, we who believe in Christ are relevant to our world. The LORD is GOOD and His Goodness can be tasted! SALT also is GOOD: “SALT is GOOD, but if the SALT has lost its FLAVOR, how shall it be seasoned?” (Lk.14:34). A significant characteristic of the goodness of salt is its inherent ability to sweeten or add taste to food.

Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the SALT of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then GOOD for NOTHING but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” As good and valuable as salt is, once it loses the ability to add flavour to food, it becomes “good for nothing.” Interestingly, the Lord Jesus didn’t say, “Be salt,” or “You will become salt after you’ve grown in Christ a few years”; He said, “You are THE SALT of the earth.” What it takes to manifest as the Salt is already inherent withing us. We carry God’s Goodness and Sweetness within! Salt is not something we become over time, but what we are right now.

We are THE SALT of the earth! Without us the world will have no taste and be barren of goodness. Salt is a sweetener. Likewise, the Believer provides sweetness and a wonderful flavour pointing others to our Lord Jesus. However, Matthew 5:13 and Luke 14:34 avow the possibility of salt losing its flavour, asking, “How shall it be seasoned?’ or “How shall it be restored?” Science confirms that salt – sodium chloride – is a stable compound, which means that salt doesn’t become un-salty unless it gets mixed with, or contaminated by, impurities!

In the Lord’s day, rock salt was salt that had been made impure by other elements, or salt that hadn’t been purified, which would be thrown out on pathways to be trampled on by the feet of travelers. Salt that has lost its saltiness was used for pathways, making smooth walkways and melting snow and ice. Believers in Christ possess inherent value as salt, but can lose saltiness – credibility, effectiveness, flavouring, distinctive quality, and the seasoning power that God wants us to bring into the world around us – by allowing impurities into our lives that dilute or corrupt our testimony. While this is not talking about losing our salvation, impurities can turn one’s life into bland ineffectiveness.

We are salt to our spheres of influence, adding the taste of goodness. God has uniquely placed us in our settings to do His work and positively impact lives. Like Esther, we are placed in each of our positions “for such a time as this” (Est.4:14).