Posted by “Salty” is a term that’s used in our culture now. Occasionally, my roommate would say to me “You salty”, and I honestly still have no idea what she was trying to say to me. I would ask for a definition, but no one could ever explain it to me. I thankful that Jesus wasn’t as unclear as my roommate in Matthew 5:13 when he said:
“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.
If you listen to pretty much any teaching on this passage, you will hear the preacher talk about how salt is a preservative. While I agree with this, I feel like this verse goes much further.
While studying this passage, I looked up the word “salt” in my concordance. If you don’t have a concordance, invest in one or look up words online while you’re studying, it will help your understanding of the Bible. I found the greek word ἅλας (halas) to mean “salt”, as expected, but it can also be translated to mean “prudence” or “wisdom or grace exhibited in speech”. I don’t know about you, but that passage means so much more to me with those other uses in there: “You are the prudence of the earth” or “You are wisdom or grace exhibited in speech of the earth”.
Wow! We are called to be discrete and take care when managing resources whether physical, intellectual or verbal. This is so much more than just a suggestion or even a commandment of how we are supposed to act. It’s a declaration that Jesus made about us! Take some time to just meditate on that truth. What does being prudent mean to you? Do you find yourself exhibiting wisdom and grace in your speech? Do you speak and manage your resources in a way that honors God?
We all fail at this daily, but we can’t beat ourselves up about it: repent and keep moving toward God.
You are salt of the world, do you believe it?
Work in Progress 