Salt of the Earth

Salt of the Earth
By Krystal R. Yegon

You are the salt of the earth[1],
The tingle to my taste buds,
Curiously I watch you,
Kind and loving,
Beautiful in a way only God can describe,
In His most graceful words.
How I see your light shining
Above the moon and the stars.
Glaring into the darkness of my eyes
And seeing what miraculous graces
He has been bestowed upon you
And yours.

You bring so much to the earth.
You preserve your heritage in Faith, Love, and Charity.
You flavor the earth with goodness and blessings.
Yet even still you heal the wounds of the soul by speaking the truth.
A truth that most wish not to hear,
Even me.
Yet I remain curious towards you
Because I see this light.
A light which you claim not to be your own
Even though you experience these beautiful sufferings with stride.
Even though you care for so many
Who have betrayed you
Even though you forgive all those
Who have failed you
Even though you love unconditionally those
Who wish you ill
Even though all these things I have witnessed are true
This light,
You claim
Was given to you by the Most Gracious High for loyalty and obedience.
How can this be so?

It is impossible in this day and age to have this demeanor
Especially at your age.
It is impossible to live that life.
Don’t you fear
Harsh judgment by your peers?
In order to live your faith out so young
Isn’t it too much for anyone to bear?
Even those who are to salt the earth
Faith is for the old,
The wise,
And those who are close to death!
These are the people who do such things!
It is! It is!
Is it?
Why are you,
So young,
So faithful,
So irrational?
Why are you not cutting corners?
Or skipping traditions,
Or enjoying the one life bestowed upon you?
You have your whole life
To salt the earth
To let your light shine
Why miss out on our times for that?

Yet as I say these things to you,
As I say them I ask myself…why am I not?
Do these indulgences that are placed before me,
Really make me that much happier?
They never last.
Yet here you are with this lasting joy.
A joy from being a servant to God.
A joy from a refreshing land with aromas only God has sprinked,
And I see you,
Raining with blessings and love from our Heavenly Father.
Even though I have more,
More cars,
More clothes,
More food,
More money,
I see you with even more,
More love,
More hope,
More faith,
More joy,
More…life…

But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.[2]
I see now that we are different now.
Yet we should be the same.
Foolishness has overrun my mind.
A careless foolishness that causes me to never stop and think,
Never look around, and
Never go about asking my spirit,
What do you want?
You and I have the same title,
Yet you fulfill it,
Humbly,
Gracefully,
And I demean it,
Selfishly,
Half-heartedly,
Foolishly.

Even as I see your light,
I am envious.
For I wish to have the light that you have obtained,
Yet don’t wish to put up the work that you did
To obtain it.
How foolish is this?
How utterly absurd!
Then I remember,
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. 
If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.[3]
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.[4]
Yes I have received my reward in full,
Indulging in the earth,
I have received my reward in full,
As you season the earth,
I have received my reward in full,
As grace is bestowed upon you,
I have received my reward in full.

For you are seen, but are not seen,
You opened your day,
Live your day,
And close your day,
As a prayer.
Just as I dedicate my greatest achievements to others,
You dedicate your entire life to God,
By doing His will,
And when those like me,
Who bear the same name as you,
See you doing what you are to do,
We scoff,
We judge,
And we wonder,

Why am I not doing the same?


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Matthew 5:13-16 – You are the salt of the Earth

3 “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 trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
You are the salt of the earth (Bible Gateway, 2011). As a Christian, I have accepted the Word as my bread and as Jesus fed all who joined him, I must be a disciple and feed those who need to be fed as well. However, how can I do so when I am Luke-warm myself? This passage calls for Christians to be the salt of the earth. To preserve the earth from sin and evildoers and to flavor the earth with good works and characteristics that can only be expressed through a holy lifestyle, a Christ-like lifestyle (Krell, 2010). Salt was used in these ways and Christians must continue through every society and every culture to do these things in order to help those souls reach their final destination after death.

But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (Bible Gateway, 2011). This refers to the Luke-warm Christian, as I am. We are to never “regain” our flavor by losing something we already had. We should not fall into convenience and comfort, but rather stand our ground in spiritual warfare (Krell, 2010). Otherwise, we fail to meet our calling that God bestowed upon us at birth. These gifts that are given to us are not to be hidden or shy upon because it is unacceptable in society’s view. We are to give thanks by doing God’s will, yet not boast about it like hypocrites do, but instead give the glory to God (Bible Gateway, 2011). As we are to flavor the earth with our good deeds, we must do so with the greatest intentions of glorifying God.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Bible Gateway, 2011). This passage is understood, yet underdone in my life. I have not let my light shine in the way that I am supposed to do because I have been bewildered by the sins of my own knowing. As the years progress, I will work on doing as the song and scripture implies “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” Our society and our culture has progressed to the point where people cannot express their religious beliefs without offending, but as salt is also used as an antiseptic, it will tend to offend, but we should always speak and act in love and not in contention (Houdmann, 2014). For just as Jesus spoke in love to all those who were around Him and just as He forgave all who betrayed and caused fatal harm to Him, we must do the same if we are to call ourselves Christians. Our light is far beyond that in which can be forced upon ourselves. As our society brutally tries to violate our soul and take away the innocence of all, Christians need to spread their lifestyles and their words beyond the church and flood the streets, in Jesus’ Name.

Bibliography


Bible Gateway. (2011). Matthew 5-6 NIV. Retrieved from BibleGateway.com: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+5-6&version=NIV
Houdmann, S. M. (2014). What does it mean that believers are to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). Retrieved from GotQuestions.org: http://www.gotquestions.org/salt-and-light.html
Krell, R. (2010, March 23). Mission Possible (Matthew 5:13-16). Retrieved from Bible.org: https://bible.org/seriespage/mission-possible-matthew-513%E2%80%9316




[1] Matthew 5:13, NIV Bible
[2] Matthew 5:13, NIV Bible
[3] Matthew 6:1, NIV Bible
[4] Matthew 6:5, NIV Bible

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