Salt and Light that are Worth Something

Matthew 5:13-16

 

In Matthew 5 we have the sermon on the mount.  There is so much in this one chapter that a preacher could fill months’ worth of sermons in.  Don’t worry I won’t do that to you today.  Instead let’s focus on just a couple of verses that are found after the Beatitudes.  Jesus talks about salt and its value.  As I read these verses this morning I was struck by the idea of salt.  It is one of the most common minerals on the Earth, in fact according to a quick search online, it is the sixth most common of all the elements.

Think of all the different things, elements, minerals on the planet.  Many of which we will fight over to the death to get our hands on.  But when was the last time you heard of anyone going to blows over salt.  Of course, during Thanksgiving dinner everyone has that one uncle who never seems to relinquish the salt but that is not what I am talking about.  Could it be that because salt is so prevalent it is taken for granted?  If it is so prevalent why is Jesus telling us to be like it?

There is something key that He conveys to us, salt in of itself has no value unless it has flavor.  Think about it.  If you were having dinner and you ask for the salt with no flavor, what kind of looks would you get?  What would be the point?  Jesus isn’t telling us to be as common as what we can see but for us to have a purpose for being.  He goes on in verses 14-16 to tell us exactly what that purpose is.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (NLT)

Our purpose is to be the light that leads others to Him.  How do we do that?  By having flavor and doing good deeds.  Just like salt has no value in itself alone, its value only comes when applied.  Looking like a Christian and being a Christian are very different things.  Our voices can profess the right things, but Christ is telling us it is our actions that provide the light to Him.

Just like the abundance of salt, there are a plethora of people and voices.  These things are one of the most common elements in the world.  What we need to ask ourselves, is when do these things become valuable?  Unless your salt has flavor, you cannot be of service to God.  Unless our actions are louder than our voice, we will never succeed in pointing others to Christ and to the praise of the Father.  The question that I am left with is simple but convicting: Do I just look and say the part that everyone can see which has no value on its own or do my actions give the flavor that show my purpose of being?  May our salt not lose its reason for existing.