As I was reading through Mark chapter 9 this morning, I was confronted (once again) with Jesus telling us that we are to be the “salt of the earth”. So I started thinking about this in a little more detail than just that we are to transform ourselves into small white crystals and fit ourselves snugly in to those paper containers with the umbrella-toting girl on them…
What is salt? What are its properties?
For one, salt brings out flavor in foods. My wife and I do a lot of cooking, and we can certainly attest that most recipes call for some portion of salt (or something inherently salty), however small. A tiny pinch of salt in a dish can bring out the complexities of the other ingredients, bring out the nuances of each element, and bring out the beauty of the flavors in the dish—allowing the ingredients to work together in “flavor harmony” on our palate (poetic, isn’t it?)
In fact, the absence of salt can make food downright boring and bland. One time, my wife started cooking things without any salt at all in order to try to be more healthy. That period of several months was one of the more miserable times my mouth has experienced! (In fact, I often rebelled, keeping the salt shaker tightly clenched in my fist at every meal.) The problem with adding salt “after market” was that the dish lost the complexities it would have had if salt had been used throughout the entire process—it’s cooking, and I’m sure there’s some scientific explanation, but if the salt is added at the beginning, the food simply tastes better!
Another cooking anomaly is when salt is added to desserts. This seems counter-intuitive, but my wife tells me that the addition of salt removes the bitterness from the dessert, thus allowing the sweetness to be more profound. For example, when we make hot chocolate (not the pre-packaged stuff but the real kind), we add a pinch of salt to the beverage. And can I say—it is an awesome drink! The salt makes the bittersweet chocolate simply sweet (remove the “bitter”—you’ll get it), and therefore delectable!
OK—so my point. If Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth (note that he does not tell us to become the salt, but rather that we are the salt), then what does that look like?
Well, for one, we are to bring out the flavor in the world around us. Like salt, we are to enhance the complexities of the people around us, allowing them to be themselves while calling them to something greater (like intensifying the flavor).
Second, we are to remove the bitterness from the environment around us. When we do this we allow the sweet moments, the sweet things in life to become more enhanced and enjoyable.
Third, we are not to be absent. Being absent means that we allow blandness in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Being absent means that we are content in keeping our talents and our giftedness to ourselves and not giving to others for the benefit of their spiritual growth (and ultimately, God’s kingdom).
So, my prayer is that we would become more intentional in our prescribed role as salt. That we would begin to bring out the personalities, the true nature of those around us. That we would point them toward harmonious living, enhancing the complexities of the flavors of life. I pray that we would remove the bitterness from our surroundings, bringing out the sweet moments.
Oh—and did I mention what happens when salt is used in excess? We’ve all had a dish which had way too much salt. The effect? A bad taste that lingers for far too long. Perhaps you’ve had such an experience and have never touched that particular dish since. Perhaps it’s taken you a long time before you were willing to try it again. Perhaps the dish you had was recently, and you can’t get the bad, over-salted taste out of your mouth even now…
Be cautious, salt. Be weary of overburdening your world with your saltiness. A little goes a long, long way. Salt must be used intentionally, and it certainly must be used, but it also must be used wisely.
YOU are the salt…
