Mark 9:50 “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
There is a difference between having salt “in” and salt “on” our meals. If salt is added while cooking a dish, it will permeate through and be well seasoned. However, if salt is added only at the end, it provides a more concentrated, superficial coating that immediately hits your tongue. Imagine being served with an unsalted delicious meal but with a spoonful of Himalayan salt at the corner of your plate. The taste and the experience will not be pleasurable. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Have salt in yourselves”. Many well-educated scholars and intellects know about Christ yet, they don’t know Him. They have salt crystals in their head but callousness in their heart. The Pharisees had a thorough knowledge of the scriptures yet did not ‘walk the talk’. They were like concentrated salt pillars and the salty sea waters of the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is the saltiest body of water on the face of the earth, because water flows in from one of the tributaries of the River Jordan, but it doesn’t flow out into the ocean. The Dead Sea is 10 times saltier than ordinary seawater. No living organism can survive due to the high salinity of the Dead Sea. Similarly, if we are knowledgeable and well informed in the scriptures, yet, have no salt-seasoning of Godliness in our lives, we will be like the Dead Sea – there will be only an in-flow of knowledge, but no out-flow of wisdom.
Three effects of Christ-like saltiness in our lives:
1. Invisible: Salt is invisible, and so should our flavour in the secular world be. “Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven (Matthew 6:1). If we bite into chunks of salt with every mouthful, we will not enjoy the delicacy. Similarly, people should enjoy and not abhor our flavour and saltiness. Be the invisible seasoning, not the visible salt crystals chunks!
2. Intrinsic: Though the price of salt has come down after the invention of refrigeration, the intrinsic value of salt has not been lost. The ancient idiom “A man is worth his salt”, means “to be worth one’s pay”. The salt paid to the Roman soldier was his monetary value. Likewise, the Godly saltiness is the measure of our spiritual worthiness. Our real intrinsic value is only in our goodness, Godliness and generosity, not our properties or prosperity. Never lose your innate intrinsic value of Christ-like saltiness.
3. Influence: Salt is the silent influence that is pervasive yet powerful. Soaking in the Dead Sea for about an hour a day can improve skin ailments by up to 88 percent. Jesus wants us to season our lifestyle with Godliness and to “be at peace with one another”. The cure for anything is: salt water, sweat, tears or the sea. Be the influential salt, not only as a tastemaker but also as a peacemaker. Salt can also be used as a fire extinguisher. Throw a handful of salt on to subside the flames of angry arguments. Be the silent influential salt to heal, appeal and hoist peace.
Add God flavours of love, compassion and joy to the tasteless world.
Romans 12:18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Prayer: Pappa God, let the salt of Godliness penetrate into my veins and my bloodstream. May I not only be a tastemaker but also a peacemaker and a Kingdom builder for You. Amen.
Leave a Reply