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Jun 20, 2023 06:00am

Salt Matters

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(The following is a family devotional guide with suggested questions and scriptures.)

Talk Time

What does salt do to food? What can too much of it do to your food?
What are the benefits to salt? Look some up and share.

Salt. It’s small. It’s white. It’s cheap. In fact, we don’t think much about it until it’s time to cook or eat. With the right amounts, it can take a bland dish and make it delicious! Maybe that’s what Jesus had in mind when, in His Sermon on the Mount, he called His disciples to be the “salt of the earth”. You see, the disciples would have immediately understood this metaphor because salt was important – even thousands of years ago.

It was a preservative (it could keep their meat from spoiling and any infection from growing).
It was valuable (Roman soldiers were paid wages in salt).
It causes a thirst.
It adds flavor.

When Jesus called His followers to be the “salt of the earth”, He was calling them to live out their love, for Him and God, in such a way that others would see value in Jesus and His teaching. This would create a spiritual thirst in others. It would be the cure, or preservative, to the infection of sin sickness around us in this world. This way of living can add flavor and enhance our lives.

Bible Connection

Jesus gives us a “road map”, called the Beatitudes, of what this way of living looks like. Read Matthew 5:3-12 and look for the traits of this lifestyle.

This list is also referred to as the Be-Attitudes because it embodies traits we are called to “be” as followers of Christ. And, if you look at the Be-Attitudes, it’s pretty intimidating!

Be humble.
Be pure.
Be thirsty to do right.
Be the peacemaker.
Be merciful.
Be joyful when you are persecuted.

If anything, this list sounds hard, if not impossible! And now we’re onto something…because it is. You see, the only way we could possibly possess such attitudes is if we embrace verse three: to admit we are “poor in spirit”. That means we must confess that we are spiritually deficient – we can’t live this lifestyle out on our own. It is admitting we can’t get it right in life, and we need help! Guess what? Jesus has the answer because He IS the answer. Only when we turn to Jesus as our Savior, and God’s Spirit abides in us are we capable of living out such attitudes in our lives. Even then, it’s challenging, but now we have Holy Spirit power in us to help us walk it out.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” With the Holy Spirit’s help, we will experience the supernatural comfort of God when our hearts are hurting. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we are able to put others’ needs ahead of our own. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can walk away from an argument or not get the last word in. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can make peace instead of engaging in conflict. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can apologize, even when it’s hard (or even when you think you’ve done nothing wrong). With the Holy Spirit’s help, we are able to show mercy to people, even when they don’t deserve it.

You see, we are capable of living out the Be-Attitudes because Philippians 4:13 tells us we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who gives us strength. Not only that, God blesses us when we choose the Be-Attitudes. That may look like open doors of opportunity, answered prayers, God’s favor in a situation, or experiencing God in a way that changes us. God’s blessing can look different to all of us! But make no mistake: God’s blessing is always worth any effort in striving to be the salt. And here’s the good news: if we mess up, we confess it. We go back to Matthew 5:3 and admit we are “poor in spirit” and need God’s help to do better next time…because God will always give us another opportunity to get it right. Thank God for second chances!

Faith Connection

What are some areas you can be a little more salty in? God wants His kids to stand out, be different, and live in such a way, others thirst for it! Living salty or being the salt points people to the only thirst quencher they will ever need: Jesus. Only His living water can quench them for life. People need hope, and God offers it to all who turn to Him. It’s what love does.