Being Salty

In high school my son would often say people were, “being salty”. We do not live near the ocean so this has nothing to do with smelling like salt water. It is slang to describe when people are behaving bitter or annoyed. It got me thinking though about when Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth”. Does God expect us to be salty? I know what my son means when he says, “being salty” but what does God mean? I began to look up all the verses I could find in the Bible about salt and came across Mark 9: 49-50.

For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.

Just before these verses Jesus is cautioning His disciples to avoid sin by sacrificing or cutting off whatever causes them to sin. People are seasoned with fire and sacrifice is seasoned with salt. Why does Jesus say sacrifice is seasoned with salt? Was there an actual sacrifice that required salt?

In Leviticus 2 the grain offering is described. The grain offering came after the burnt offering. There is quite a bit of scholarly discussion about the purpose of the grain offering but what this is what I summarized. The grain offering was a gift made for God that showed recognition for what God had given them (His atoning sacrifice) and a commitment to be dedicated to God. This offering used the resources God had given (Wheat, olives, salt, frankincense) but involved the worshiper in using those resources to make the gift (flour and oil then mixed with salt and baked or fired). So, going back to Mark 9 Jesus says people are seasoned with fire and connects it the grain offering being seasoned with salt. So what is the salt in the grain offering? Leviticus 2:13 says:

You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

Here the Bible connects salt to covenant. In ancient and not so ancient times salt is used as a preservative. When people made contracts or covenants, they added salt as a seal of permanence or faithfulness to the agreement. So here we get a clue. According to Scripture, salt is a symbol of faith or faithfulness. Let’s go back to Mark and see how that works.

Every sacrifice will be seasoned with faith. Faith is good, but if the faith loses its faithfulness, how will you season it?

Well just before in the text it says, “everyone will be seasoned with fire”. So, what is the fire that seasons faith? Looking at fire in the Greek it seems there was fire for cooking (coal fire), fire for light (firelight), and an all-consuming fire for destruction (pyr). The last definition is where we get the word pyre from.

Jesus cooked fish on coal fire (John 21:9) and Peter warmed himself by the firelight (Luke 22:55) but if your hand causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away from you, so you don’t go into pyr with two hands (Mark 9:43). Everyone will be salted with (pyr) fire (Mark 9:49). So, the fire Jesus says people are to be seasoned with is pyr fire.

We get the word pyre from the Greek word pyr and it refers to a combustible heap for burning a dead body or a pile of material to be burned. 1 Peter 1:5-7 compares trials that purify your faith with fire (pyr) that purifies gold. Peter says fire is our trials and James says trials test our faith to make it steadfast (James 1:6, 7). Let’s see if that works in our verse in Mark.

…but if the faith loses its faithfulness, how will you restore faithfulness in faith?

…restore faithfulness with trials.     

In Matthew 3:11-12, John the Baptist claims Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (pyr) and will purge the wheat. Wait, wheat? Like in the grain offering? When the grain is processed to be used the wheat is gathered and the chaff is burned. Fire in this context is a purifier. It removes what is dead or worthless. In Matthew, Jesus uses fire as a purifier but in Mark, He calls it a seasoner. Can trials do both? Can they purify and make steadfast our faith?

In science the word trial refers to a test that determines the value, quality, or usefulness of something. God does not force us to do anything. He values freedom because it is the only way for true love to exist. He allows us to choose how we respond in any situation. Trials are our opportunities to surrender our sinfulness and our self-serving behavior and exercise our faith in God to preserve us. What if we don’t want to choose faith in God and instead trust in ourselves? Jesus describes the cost of discipleship in Luke 14 and in verses 34 and 35 he says:

Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

If trials do not purify your character or increase your faith, then your faith is useless. If you are not leaning into faith in God with each test and allowing Him to change you there is no other way for your faith to grow. Instead, it will be of no value. What does Jesus advise?

…Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.

Have faith in ourselves, that is be filled with faith. Have a living, breathing faith. Have faith that encourages others’ faith and live in peace with each other.

That is what God means when He says, “be salty”. So go out and be salty today!