Salt and light

by Alex Harris

A common misconception regarding the command to be “salt” is the idea that it means that we’re to give the world flavor. Christians make the world taste good. However, while salt was used to flavor foods at the time of Christ, this was not its primary purpose. Rather, in a time before refrigeration, pasteurization, and pressure cooking, salt was highly valued as a preservative. A little salt rubbed into meat would slow decay. Our calling as Christians is not just to make the world taste good, but more importantly, to preserve it. As rebelutionaries, we are called to fight against the push of our culture towards moral and intellectual depravity. We must do this individually and corporately; if we lose our saltiness, we accomplish nothing; if we are isolated, we accomplish nothing.

The command to be “light” is also open to misconception. One common misconception is the notion that being a light involves being very careful not to draw attention to yourself, but just standing around and letting your little light shine, wherever you happen to be. But this is the exact opposite of the examples used by Christ. “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” If you’re traveling nearby at night, you cannot help but see it. It arrests your attention. In the same way, a lamp set on a stand lights up the entire house. Light is incredibly invasive. Our calling as Christians is not only to shine our light brightly, but most importantly, to do so in such a way and in such an arena that we cannot be ignored. Again, we must do this individually and corporately.