In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His followers: “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). What does it mean that we Christians are to be salt? Salt is a preservative and adds flavor to life, and it also makes people thirsty. The challenge for us is whether we bring joy to those around us, whether we help preserve society, and whether we make people thirsty for God. The intriguing thing about Jesus’ metaphor is that He says we can’t do the work of salt unless we are salt. Salt can’t lose its saltiness because salt is what it is. In other words, we must be genuine.

Jesus used the same metaphor two other times. In Mark 9:30-50, Jesus told His immediate followers: “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” The context is significant. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to die on the cross. And what were His followers doing? They were arguing about who would have the most power and influence in Jesus’ kingdom, and they were telling other Christians what they could and could not do. This was in sharp contrast to Jesus’ self-sacrificing attitude. It was the opposite of what Jesus had taught in the Sermon on the Mount, that His followers were to be poor in spirit, meek (humble), merciful, pure in heart, and peacemakers. In Mark 9, Jesus taught them these things over again by placing a child among them and urging them to love those weaker than themselves and to cut off anything that would hinder their Christian walk. They were acting nothing like salt.

In Luke 14:25-34, Jesus, again stated, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.” Again, the context is significant. Jesus had just been teaching that He did not want lukewarm, half-hearted followers, but only those willing to make a whole-hearted commitment to Him. The point is that Christians must be genuine, the real deal, completely committed to following Jesus and being like Him. It is only people like that who are really salt, people who preserve everything that is good in the world, people who add flavor to life, people who make other people thirsty for God.