Contaminated Salt

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  07/05/24

When Jesus called us “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13a), He most likely was referring to the preservation function of salt.

Jesus’ first disciples would have been intimately familiar with this function of salt. Without refrigeration, the fish that they caught would quickly spoil and rot unless they were packed in salt. Once salted, the fish could be safely stored and then used when needed.

The spiritual health and strength of the Christian is to counteract the corruption that is in the world. Christians, as salt, are to inhibit sin’s power to destroy lives. This in turn creates opportunity for the Gospel to be proclaimed and received.

We have been given a wonderful privilege to be the salt of the earth, but Jesus gave us a warning: “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matthew 5:13b). Jesus did not say that we can lose our salvation; He said that we can lose our saltiness.

When salt is contaminated, it becomes corrosive and poisonous, so it has to be thrown on the road. If we have allowed disobedience, carelessness, and indifference to rule our lives, we have become contaminated salt and have lost our saltiness. We need to confess our sin and let the Lord restore us as the salt of the earth.

Prayer: Father, I pray that You would show me if there are areas of my life that have become contaminated, causing me to lose my saltiness. Purify me so that I can be the salt of the earth. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matthew 5:13).