34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Jesus gives us a stern warning with His “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” ending to our verses for today which He states regarding losing our flavor. It is very reminiscent of His words to the Church of Laodicea found in Revelation:
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Rev 3:15-17 (NIV)
Matthew Henry states the following regarding “lukewarmness” in our walks of faith:
“Lukewarmness or indifference in religion is the worst attitude in the world. If religion is worth anything, it is worth everything. Here is no room for neutrality. Christ expects that men should declare themselves in earnest either for him or against him. As lukewarm water turns the stomach, and provokes to a vomit, lukewarm professors of religion turn the heart of Christ against them. He is sick of them, and cannot long bear them. What a difference there was between the thoughts they had of themselves and the thoughts that Christ had of them. The high thought they had of themselves. Perhaps they were well provided for as to their bodies, and this made them overlook the necessities of their souls.”
Jesus states almost the exact same words in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount:
13 "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 by men. Matt 5:13 (NIV)
As followers of Christ we are to be like salt creating a thirst for righteousness among our spheres. Our being salt also describes us metaphorically as a preservative against evil in our fallen world. Salt, too, provides a wonderful flavor pointing others to our Lord Jesus whom David says:
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalms 34:8 (NIV)
I have no idea about any of you, but I have never experienced the taste of saltless salt. It must be a pretty worthless taste. I have, on the other hand, tasted a flat diet coke! Looking forward to the anticipation of having my thirst quenched, I took a big gulp only to be disappointed by the terrible taste. While God is never surprised by our lack of “flavor” or “seasoning” to a fallen world, He is, I am afraid, very disappointed and saddened by our behavior. Hence, the strong words of Jesus. As believers we are here to be salt and light to our spheres of influence. God has uniquely placed us in our settings to carry out His work. So, how are we doing? Whether we choose to think of it this way or not, we are all Esther’s – placed in each of our positions “for such a time as this”. We not only hurt others by not being faithful to the call, we hurt ourselves. Being “saltless” results in a wasted life:
“ If you are not impacting the world for Jesus - you are wasting your time.” Anonymous
“We live a life- and make a legacy- one day and once choice at a time. May God enable each of us to be the "real deal," not for our glory but for His.” "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1 Donna Evans
“Every Christian life ought to be a force among men, a witness for Jesus and an influence for blessing and good. I know that there are few people like Billy Graham, whom God calls to do great things for Him. For men like me, and perhaps you, the best thing that we can do in the small time allotted to us in this world is to live out a genuine, simple, beautiful, strong Christian life. In our little measure we can repeat the life of the Lord Himself, doing in our imperfect way a few of the wonderful things He would do if He were Himself in our place.” Wales Goebel
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."