Please, Pass the Salt

theidolbabbler

Job 6:6-7
“Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?
My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are as food that is loathsome to me.”

Unsavory food is unpleasant. Just as Job describes, it is “loathsome to me.” You always hear on those cooking competition, tv shows, the judges negatively critiquing the competitively prepared dishes, especially when the dishes are under seasoned. I always roll my eyes at the carelessness. How do the competitive chefs miss adding the salt? Even the most basic meals become a symphony of flavor, when just salt is added. It’s so basic, yet so effective. Like when your computer at work starts acting up and the I.T. guy asks whether or not you shut down and restarted the computer. You feel like an idiot. Then you reboot it and it’s back to working properly. It’s the same for the competitive chefs. One simple step, adding salt, can make all the difference in the world.

Salt is used in many different contexts in scripture. I am not going to attempt to tackle it’s different applications to any great degree, but I am going to focus on the main point of its symbolic usage in the Bible: the Gospel.

Leviticus 2:13
“You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.”

I find it interesting that God uses salt as an illustration to remind the Levite priests about His covenant with them, through salt. Just as their grain offerings will become better with salt, so will their covenant with God become better when the flavor of the covenant is brought out by their obedience to Him.

Numbers 18:19
“All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.”

These references to salt point to something deeper than just improving the taste of the offerings. They are a type and shadow of a greater seasoning:

Matthew 5:12-16
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

The true salt is the Gospel, which gives life flavor. The “good news” of who Jesus is and what He did must continually be added to a tasteless world by us (Christians). However, it must be presented with love, enthusiasm, and personal testimony, or else the Gospel will just be bland and ineffective:

Mark 9:50
“Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Luke 14:34-35
“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

I urge you, my brothers and sisters, to “Please, Pass the Salt,” and add flavor to an unsavory world. The Great Commission is our main purpose until our Lord returns.

I leave you with these encouraging words from our brother, the Apostle Paul:

Colossians 4:5-6
“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Godspeed, to the brethren!

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Published by theidolbabbler