Christians like to use the comparison that Jesus used in Matthew where He says “You are the salt of the earth…” I wonder how many of us have really thought about this. I have seen people use this scripture at times to justify weird or spooky behavior. I have seen it used to justify being obnoxious when sharing our faith. I have also heard it used correctly, in context, but then countered with the thought that we should avoid all contact with non-believers. What was Jesus talking about in this scripture?
When Jesus spoke this, it made perfect sense to His listeners. They had the cultural context to understand it. We don’t have that context, because our salt comes from Food Lion in boxes or bags. We then pour the salt into salt shakers which we use to season our food. To the crowd that Jesus was speaking to, salt was gathered primarily from the region around the Dead Sea. What would often happen is that reeds growing along the bank would become caked with salt as the water receded and evaporated from the reeds, leaving them coated with salt. These reeds would be gathered and then used to preserve food. They would rub the reed on the food, coating it with a layer of salt. As the reed was used, less salt would remain on it. When it had ‘lost its saltiness’, the reeds would sometimes be used as flooring on the upper levels of the houses. This is probably what Jesus meant in the parable when he said “…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.”
How does this relate to us? Pretty much the way we think it does. Christians are the preservative of the earth. We also change the flavor of things we come in contact with, especially relationally. If this is the case, it strikes me as odd that we do some of the things the way we do. We gather in churches and keep to ourselves. The unchurched are welcome to join us, but they typically have to come to us. We don’t meet them where they are. That’s like putting the broccoli into the salt shaker. I’ve realized something when discussing this with several pastors over the years. All of them made it clear that the unchurched were welcome in their churches, yet few of them were actually intentional in their efforts to attract the unchurched. There is a difference between people being welcome and being intentional in attracting them. For example, I’m welcome to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch, but they are not intentional in attracting overweight men in their 50’s. While they won’t stop me from purchasing their products, they are not intentional in their efforts to market their products to me. In fact, the CEO said earlier this year that there are people who do not belong in his clothes – namely overweight people. I agree. The same is true for churches. While unchurched people may be welcome at our churches, if we really want to reach them, we need to be intentional in our efforts to have something to offer them. And some churches have made it clear that there are some people who do not belong in their churches – namely unsaved people. There is an excellent article here about being intentional in reaching unchurched people.
Another teaching I’ve heard is that, as Christians, we should avoid all contact with unbelievers. They will only drag us down to their level. It’s a good thing that Jesus didn’t subscribe to this thought process. He associated with all kinds of sinful people. He was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard. He hung out with the wrong people according to his accusers. The difference is that while Jesus hung out with these people, He didn’t do what they did. He was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard, but he wasn’t. He hung out with sinful people, but He didn’t sin. I’ve never heard anyone say “That broccoli made my salt taste like broccoli!” The salt makes the broccoli taste saltier, but the broccoli doesn’t make the salt taste broccolier. I just made that word up by the way.
Now – I realize that there is a time to cut ties in a relationship that is affecting you negatively. Andy Stanley gives five warning signs that you need to break off relationships:
1. It dawns on you that your core group isn’t moving in the direction you want your life to be moving.
2. You catch yourself pretending to be someone other than who you really are.
3. You feel pressure to compromise.
4. You hear yourself saying, “I’ll go, but I won’t participate.”
5. You hope the people you care about most don’t find out who you were with or where you have been.
You can read about this in more detail here.
However, I don’t believe that the Bible teaches us to cut all ties with non-Christians. What good is salt if it remains in the salt shaker? We need to both flavor and preserve the earth. We can’t do that by remaining separate. We should be involved with our neighbors. Most of us work secular jobs. We should have unsaved friends. We need to be careful not to allow sinful behavior to creep into our lives, but I believe that if we heed the previously listed warning signs we can avoid that. We need to 
the salt of the earth. We are the preservative that keeps the enemy at bay. We have a great message. Let’s not keep it to ourselves. If non-Christians don’t observe us living a life of joy and peace, what is going to attract them to the gospel? Church? Not unless they come with us, and they won’t typically come with us unless there is a relationship established first. Where did we ever get the impression that we were to be separated from unchurched people? The Bible does tell us that we should not be “unequally yoked” to unbelievers, which refers to Deuteronomy 22:10, which says not to plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. The reference is clear, the ox was a ceremonially “clean” animal, while the donkey was “unclean”. The two different animals would not have plowed a straight line because they were different animals with different strengths and temperaments. The same is true when we “yoke” ourselves to an unbeliever; when we marry or even enter into a business partnership with an unbeliever. We cannot pursue a straight line because we are different creatures. And yet the ox and donkey grazed in the same fields. When we paraphrase John 17, we get the “In the world but not of the world” scripture reference. But if you read John 17: 14 – 19, it is clear that Jesus is sending us into the world! He states clearly, ” 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” We are to be IN the world.
Let’s be the salt of the earth. Let’s flavor and preserve the earth, not by remaining in our salt-shakers where we’re relatively safe, but by being shaken onto our culture, by being shaken onto those around us, by being shaken into our places of employment, by being shaken into every aspect of our lives. As you go through your day, who will you flavor today? Who will you preserve from the decaying effects of a fallen, sinful world? Who will you be the salt for today?