Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavour, how will you season it? (Mark 9:50a)"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." (Matthew 5:13)
I was told that in those days, salt which contained a lot of impurities (and hence diluted the taste and "loses its flavour"), such salt was thrown out to the road where many pedestrians trampled on it.
In other words, when salt is no longer salty, it has lost its purpose and is no longer useful, and is thrown away.
Therefore, we must be salty salt! Else, we will only end up on the roads, trampled underfoot.
Salt is used to bring out the flavour, to make something taste better. Have we, as salt of the earth, fulfill what we are called to do? Have we bring out the best in others? Or have our actions cause others to be at their worst?
We have to remember that we live in a dynamic world; our actions influence others, and others' actions also influence us. How is it that there are certain people that we cannot get along with, while others can get along with them just fine? It really is about how the two party interact. Therefore, while we cannot control how others behave, we can determine how we behave. So, let our actions only serve to bring out the best in others.
"Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another." (Mark 9:50b)
2 comments:
A little lesson of history for me about salt today. Finally reaching the end of the chapter, I almost skimmed over the last verse.
Today I happen to be watching the news of a story about how this couple makes preserved meats the tradtional way in Taiwan. The salt was used for more than just flavouring, but it preserved the meat for long periods of time so that it could be enjoyed at meals later.
It made me think about how if we were compared to salt, we would bring out the best in others. And if we were to be like salt, we would be able to preserve, maybe a better word would be "care", to continuously care for others. What good salt it would be...what characteristics we can learn from being "salty salt".
d (:
Hmmm. Good point there :)
Sounds like what counselors do too.. Bring out the best in others and to 'preserve' or care..
Let's continue to be salty counselors! :)
m (:
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