42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Long before artificial preservatives or additives, salt was used to preserve meats, fish, and other food. There is something about the saltiness of sweat which lets you know that your work has been good and fulfilling. Salt matters in an important way.Jesus call us to have salt within ourselves. In such an obvious metaphor, we know that we cannot be salty. But like our sweat produces a salty flavor, we know that we can have salt within us. For sweat is a product of our work and when we work for God's kingdom, it is a different kind of sweat entirely. There is a distinct saltiness to serving others and serving God's kingdom here on earth. It is a work that take time to develop. However, we we work for God's kingdom, we find that we have salt within us.
When you do for others, you are working. You may not always sweat, but you will find that if your work is pure, your salt is pure. There are things that do occur naturally in our lives. May our work produce a saltiness worthy of our Almighty God.
Prayer: God of the earth, give us strength to do your work that we might not only produce fruits of your labor, but be the salt of the earth. Amen.
G. Thomas Martin