Recently I have been on a health journey and one that has seen me investigate how far we have fallen from the diet that our bodies were made to consume. On this path I have had the opportunity to research, sit in front of professionals and have sought the Lord for my own understanding.
Among many things I have learnt, about which I could probably write a book, I will just narrow in on one area that has not only a health message, but also reminds us why Jesus called us the ‘Salt’.
Fallacy of the western diet
For so long we in the western diet have been told to follow a certain set of principles, yet we seem to be more and more unhealthy as the time goes by. I think largely it’s about how much we have messed with our food and actually most of us don’t even know what we are eating.
Maybe it’s the way we have prioritised being busy always over rest or maybe just a combination of all of it. Whatever the case I believe that there are some lies that need to be revealed and instead some truth to be restored.
How good is Salt?
My journey has seen me discover the truth about ‘Salt’ and how there is such a need to uncover the lie that we have been told. For most of my life I have always heard things like it’s too salty and you can have too much salt. Now of course there is a level of salt that we can handle in our body, but did you know that our body needs salt for hydration, energy and for nerve transmission system to operate optimally?
Recently my diet has changed significantly to restore some of the areas of my health that are requiring restoration and good quality salt, in fact Celtic salt has become a staple for me each day.
Research from Barbara Obrien. a professional nutritionist. says that Celtic Sea salt contains 82 minerals of the 87 we need in the human body. So, when I gulp down two glasses of Salt water a day, I know I am moving towards a great level of health.
Jesus’ Salty words
Naturally when God brings things up in your life, there are usually a number of lessons that we can learn that generally go beyond just the practical. My interest in salt led me to Jesus’ word on the subject and particularly his words from the famous sermon on the mount found in the book of Matthew. What did he say again?
You are the salt of the earth but what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be trampled underfoot as worthless (Matthew Chapter 5 verse 13).
Jesus seemed to think that salt was good and he even likened us and our actions as followers as being salt of the earth. Strange metaphor, isn’t it? Well, a deep dive into the ‘salt mine’ revealed that the word salt to the hearers of Jesus that day at the mountain was much deeper than what we might think.
Here are 3 ways that Jesus using the metaphor ‘Salt’ was sending a profound message to those he spoke to. The first is flavour, the second is preserver and third is value.
Flavour
Salt as a flavourer is a great example of us being likened to salt. Just think when you cook that beautiful bit of steak, you know you need to season it to the right level to really bring out the flavour. If it’s not seasoned enough you know, and you’re generally sitting there at the table going ‘this is just not seasoned enough’ and so your meat has not fulfilled its greatest potential. It is the same for us.
Imagine if we actually thought of ourselves as the flavour of the world and that we the followers of Jesus make the world more flavoursome when we live to our full potential?
Preserver
We all know that we take things for granted and one of them in the modern day living experience is the fridge. This amazing invention keeps our food fresh, cold and preserved. If we think about people in the 1st century, there was no electricity and therefore no fridge. How did they preserve their food and particularly the meats?
Well, you guessed it, it was salt. Salt was the preserver of the food which would be stored so the families could be nourished by the preserved meats they would consume to stay fit and healthy. Longevity was brought to their food which sustains it. Not unlike us; we need to be a sustained product capable of being nourishing to ourselves and more importantly, to others. So, salt sustains us just it would a delicious piece of lamb.
Value
Did you know that the word salary actually comes from the Latin word Sal from which the word salt comes? Well, yes, it’s true and what I found in this part of Jesus’ metaphor is one of the most profound.
When he uttered the word ‘salt’ in that context he was saying that you are all worth salt no matter what status you have, what position you possess and what value you have been deemed to have in a vicious social caste system. The slogan “you are worth your salt” actually comes from the fact that Roman soldiers were actually paid in salt and it was a very valuable commodity to receive.
I think that this is one of the most profound things out of the salt teaching because it once again reminds us that we are not just in chance lottery, but in fact we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we are so incredibly valuable to our heavenly father. You have a purpose that is so valuable to our earth.
Last warning
The final part of Matthew Chapter 5, verse 13, says that our salt can be deemed to be useless and be in fact trampled underfoot. I think sometimes we as Christians seem to find ourselves under foot at the bottom of society, rather than living out the full potential that the we are called too. Jesus says don’t become flavourless, preserver-less and forget your value when the world is crying out for us to His salt of the earth.
Married to the amazing Liana Monaghan for 13 years, a fellow creative that is just trying to release a little bit of heaven this side of eternity. How do I do that? I draw, paint, love people and surf my way through the streets and beaches of South Australia.