Salt of the Eart

I was reading the Sermon of the Mount and got to the part about being "salt of the earth." We have all heard parrells drawn from this passage. The purpose of salt in food is to perserve and to give taste. Without salt, food spoils quickly and is ruined. Jesus' charge to be the "salt of the earth" is extremely challenging for two reasons.

1) Christians are supposed to perserve the world and give taste to the world for Christ. We are supposed to be furthering the Kingdom of God in the world. This means we are supposed to be actively spreading the good news of the gospel. This is the focus of most churches, but the miss the other part of the Kingdom. We are also supposed to be taking care of the poor and marginalized of the world. At this goal, the American church fails miserably. We should take it upon ourself to win the 'War on Poverty' not wait for the government. How many churches have built for themselves new building without giving a tenth as much to feeding the hungry or clothing the naked or visiting the imprisoned or helping the community in any way. The call of God is not to just get converts, but bring about the justice and love which the Kingdom of God is all about.

2) The second part of the passage is even scarier. It tells us that if salt has lost its saltiness, then it is no good and should be thrown out. I love the phrase "saltiness." The whole purpose of salt is to perserve and enchange flavor. If it is not doing this, it is worthless. The whole purpose of the church is to advance to Kingdom. If it is not doing this, it is worthless. How many churches would Christ walk into and declare have lost their "saltiness" and are therefore worthless? Or even more challenging, would Christ look at you or me and say I have lost my "saltiness" and am worthless.

Does Christ look at us and see a people advancing his Kingdom, or people who should be thrown out and "trampled?"