“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 be trampled by men.” (Matthew 5:13)
I heard a recent situation where a ministry leader disagreed with another leader and informed his staff that there was to be no communication with the leader to whom there was disagreement. No one was to contact or reach out to this gentleman. Not exactly what I would call a community-building effort.
I rolled my eyes and did a little huff! I commented, “Oh, yes, Christians being so very Christ-like!” (Cue my sarcasm with an eye roll.)
My sarcasm gets the better of me, especially when I hear scenarios like this one. Growing up in ministry, I witnessed my share of conflicts among pastors, ministry leaders, and Christ-followers who failed to be the examples that they should have been when it came to conflict resolution, communication, and “loving your neighbor.”
At times, these relationship conflicts had a profound effect on my understanding of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I had to separate the Christ I committed to following from flawed Christian leaders who disappointed and hurt others that I deeply cared about.
In other words, I had to mature in Christ and in the counsel of scriptures resisting the temptation to let bitterness set in. I began to see my sins among the backdrop of flawed Christians—even those who were often continually put on a pedestal—and I realized we ALL fall short and need the grace of God.
“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:15)
But my recent sarcastic comment with eye roll started to prick my heart a bit.
Recently, I have witnessed other breakdowns in relationships and communication: family, marriages, friends, ministry… And mostly all of them have been within the Christian community.
Then I heard a sermon by Tim Keller, and he referenced Matthew 5:13. What does it mean as Christians to be the “salt of the earth?”
According to Keller, salt is a preservative and we—as believers in Christ— are called to preserve the relationships and the community God has given us. That means our family, friends, ministry-family, work-family… the list goes on.
The world is full of conflict and relationships seem to break apart in our society daily, but Pastor Keller reminded us (reminded me), “We [Christians] don’t do that!”
We are called to be set apart, preserve, and restore broken relationships. We are to communicate, and like Keller admonished, “We are not to be turf-conscious.”
Anyone convicted yet, or is it just me?
Here’s the other thing about salt. If you put it on an open wound, then it stings. It burns!
I have let the wounds of insults, rejection, miscommunication, and resentment fill me with pride. I have failed to see my own turf war of their wrong, and I am right!
But it is not about who is right or wrong; it is about humbly being set apart as believers in Christ!
It is about doing the very difficult work of forgiveness and relationship mending because you made a commitment and call yourself a follower of Christ.
I believe this is why Matthew continued with verse 14: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
If we live like we should and add salt to our relationships; we preserve what God has given us, through each other. We set ourselves apart as Christ-followers in a society of constant turmoil and conflict.
That, my friends, allows us to be “a light to the world.” A beacon calling others—by our example— to the gospel of Jesus Christ because the grace of God flows out of us in restoration instead of bitterness.
As Christians, we will never be perfect, but we can learn to swallow our pride, sting our wounds a bit, and add that preserving mineral that restores health to our relationships.
Life goal: To be saltier, so I can shine God’s light in me— a bit brighter!
Carol A Kenzy