The Salt of the Earth
Posted by Joseph Wilson in And All of the Rest, Theology
"One of the most valuable trade items from earliest times was salt. It is
not a condiment like pepper or mustard or ketchup, but a mineral, NaCl,
sodium chloride. Humans need it to live. Our nervous systems can’t
function without it. Its prevalence shows in the many phrases connected
with salt: a valuable person is the “salt of the earth,” which is how Christ
referred to his apostles; a useless person is “not worth his salt.” One of
the oldest ways of obtaining salt was by boiling or evaporating sea water.
This was done in ancient Egypt; in ancient Gaul (the Romans’ name
for France); in France in the eighteenth century, to avoid paying the salt
tax; and in India in the twentieth century as a way to gain independence
from England and the British salt monopoly. This is a very expensive
and labor-intensive way to get salt compared to mining rock salt.
Currently in the United States, between two and three million tons of
salt are mined each year from a mine that runs under the center of the
United States, from Detroit and Cleveland south to Louisiana. This salt
mountain is as big as Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on earth. Only
four percent of the salt that is mined is consumed; the other ninety-six
percent is used to de-ice roads and by the chemical industry, which breaks
it down into sodium and chloride."
taken from Cusine and Culture by Linda Civito
"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."
Jesus taken from Matthew 5:13-16
