Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Matthew 5:13
In our modern era, we have lost the value of salt. You can go to any restaurant, and they give away salt as if it is valueless. It is not a major budget item in most households. However, that was not true when Jesus was giving this sermon. In that era of history, salt was highly valuable. It preserved food in addition to flavoring it. Merchants and the wealthy paid exorbitant wealth for salt.
Today if Jesus was preaching this sermon, He might say something like, “You are priceless jewels.” My friends, you have great value. What great value means to each of us might be different. But regardless of how you define it, how do you treat things that you value greatly? Think of precious jewelry passed down from generation to generation. It is typically kept in a safe and brought out on special occasions. It is unlikely that you are going to be playing tug of war with your ancestor’s diamond necklace.
Know this. Jesus sees you as valuable. Jesus started this sermon by welcoming all of us. We are the poor in spirit, mourners, meek, hungry for justice, thirsty for justice, pure in heart, and persecuted. In the day-to-day living and trying to live up to how we are created, it is easy to feel like a doormat. Loving the hurting and the lost often leaves me feeling weary and tired. But it is a good tired. When I lay down at night, I sleep deeply, being refreshed and reminded by God that I am His anointed to serve these men and women. Jesus is transitioning now from his introduction and welcome to his message.
His first point that is we must accept, if any of the rest of the sermon is to make sense, is that we are loved, cherished, honored, and valued by the King of Kings. If you are unable to see that and feel that truth, how can you accept the challenges that Jesus is about to unleash on humanity? What Jesus will call us to in this sermon radical living. Understand that we are called to much more than just going to church and singing a few songs and listening to a sermon.
You are highly prized.
However, many of us act more like we are little more than fast food French fries. These are cheap, and if you drop one, you typically won’t cry too much over losing that one fry. We treat ourselves and others as if they are expendable. Jesus warns us that if we do that, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to restore that value.
I will tell you that in our own power and wisdom, that restoring a life that is trashed to the great worth that God sees in you is impossible. It is impossible to restore a valueless life simply by reading, writing, thinking, exercising, or spending tons of money. All of those things will prop up your life. But Jesus teaches us by example that in order to prosper we must give up all connection to this world. We must let go of the rope and reach out to Him. He can make the salt salty again. He is capable of turning our hearts of worthless stone to gold. My friends, choose this day to live your value.
