THE SILENT INFLUENCE

 

The late Peter Marshall, used to love to tell the story of “The Keeper of the spring,” a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village along the eastern slopes of the Alps. The old man had been hired many years earlier by a town council to clear away the debris from the pools of water that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town.

With faithful, silent regularity he patrolled the hills, removed the leaves, branches, and silt from the water. By and by, the village became a popular attraction for tourists. Graceful swans floated along the crystal clear springs, farmlands were naturally irrigated and the view from restaurants was picturesque.

Years passed then one evening the town council met for its semi-annual meeting. As they reviewed the budget, one man’s eye caught the salary figure being paid the obscure keeper of the spring. The treasurer asked, “Who is this old man? Why do we keep him on year after year?  For all we know he is doing us no good. He isn’t necessary any longer!” 

By a unanimous vote, they dismissed the old man. For several weeks nothing happened but leaves and small branches continued to snap off and fall into the pools, hindering the flow of water. Silt accumulated in the spring and some was carried downstream. One afternoon someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. A couple of days later the water was much darker.

Within another week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks and a foul odor was detected. Swans left as did the tourists. The millwheels moved slower, some finally ground to a halt. Silt clogged the irrigation systems. Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

Embarrassed, the council called a special meeting. Realizing their gross error in judgment, they hired back the old keeper of the spring and within weeks; the river began to clear up , the swans came back and so did the tourists.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 3-12) is one of the greatest sermons given by Jesus. In this sermon he set forth the norms of his kingdom. What will citizens of his kingdom look like? How will they act? What are their responsibilities? How will they relate to the world? How will they differ from the world? The Beatitudes in the Sermon answers those questions.

God knows the condition of the world very well; life on this earth is characterized by moral corruption. Therefore he redeemed the disciples in order to make them "the salt of the earth". The world lies under the power of thick darkness and people live in spiritual darkness. He redeemed the disciples in order to make them "the light of the world".

Jesus said to his disciples "you are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world"(Matt 5:13-14). He did not say “you ought to be”, he said “you are”. They did not have to work hard to become salt and light. They already were the salt and light. He did not say you are "a salt and light", but "the salt and light".  They were not just one among several other groups that served as His salt and light in this world. They were the only ones.

Jesus intentionally singled out this group of peasants as so distinctly different from the world and so important for the world, that he calls them the salt and the light of the world. These striking words from him tell us that we are saved in order to be made into something that this fallen world desperately needs. The Romans used to say nothing is more valuable than sun and salt.

Jesus said “you are the salt of the earth”. Nothing is more universal than salt. It is such a common commodity that we take it for granted, but what would life be without salt! Salt has very many uses and it has had them since the Bible days. Salt is used as a seasoning for our food. Without salt even your favourite food will be awful. Just the right amount of salt adds a great deal of flavor and enjoyment to that which is, otherwise, tasteless.

 As "salt" on this earth, Jesus' followers will certainly "season" the earth with their presence, making it a better place to be. The Fruit of the Spirit borne in their lives (Gal 5:22-23) will put flavor into life. Paul told the Colossians “Let your speech always be filled with grace and seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:6). The Christians speech is flavored and has a therapeutic effect.

Salt particularly in the culture of Jesus' day was as a preservative. Since there were no refrigerators in those days, people would salt their food in order to prevent it from getting spoiled. The Bible described the covenant that God made with His people as "a covenant of salt forever before the Lord " (Num. 18:19; 2 Chron. 13:5). Here salt, as a preservative, symbolized purity and durability.

Salt purifies, cleanses and heals. The best gargle for a sore throat is plain salt water. The church has a purifying and healing effect because of the anti­septic and therapeutic power of the Holy Spirit working through God's people. The church has a 'sanctifying impact' on the culture in which it is found. The Christian’s reverence for God, passion for holiness and moral purity has a sanctifying impact upon the society.

Salt creates thirst. We are told that you can lead a horse to water and yet not make him drink. However add a little salt to his hay and you will "encourage" him to drink. God's people develop a thirst for God in the hearts of men. They live in such a way that others would want what they see in them. They ask Christians to give them the reason for the hope that they have (1 Peter 3:15).

Salt acts invisibly, yet its influence is very real nonetheless. The influence of godly character, though silent, is powerful. Christians have a powerful influence, an influence which is rather felt than seen. The impact of an almost unconsciously lived holy life is very effectual to the prevention of moral decay in any society. The influence of a holy life is the Church’s greatest blessing to the world.

For salt to be effective is must have contact with the things it seeks to purify. We often assume that those “salt” qualities can only be developed in isolation from the world, but Jesus wants us to live them out before the watching world. You can have a lot of fellowship with all the other “salt” and think your job is accomplished. But, salt sitting in a salt shaker will never exert its influence until it is shaken into the world.

Sometimes Christians vent lots of frustration over the decay of our society. They throw up their hands in horror and reproach the non-Christian world. But our culture is naturally rotting because it has no preservative. One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real questions to ask is “where is the salt?" or "why is it ineffective?”

As we read on, we find that Jesus asks a question, "But if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." This underscores for us the fact that, if we are to be effective as "the salt of the earth", we must not lose our distinctiveness and purity as "salt". As a chemical compound salt is very strong and stable; it doesn't really lose its quality as "salt" in and of itself.

But it can and does lose its "salty" impact when it becomes mixed with impurities that contaminate it. Then, it no longer has the effectiveness of salt. So long as we are in Christ, we will never lose our effectiveness as salt. But we lose it when we become mixed up and contaminated with the elements of our culture. We end up becoming indistinguishable from the very people God has saved us to serve as "salt"!

Sometimes, as believers, we are pressured to become like the unbelieving people of our culture. And to the degree that the sinful elements of our culture have taken up residence in us; to the degree that we are no longer distinct from its moral corruption and decay; to the degree that the values and priorities of the world dictate our own life-style and our beliefs - then, to that degree, we've become 'contaminated salt'. We have lost our effectiveness.

The world often view the church with frustration and anger, because it stands in the way of what it considers to be 'progress'. But the church's existence on this earth is God's merciful gift of grace to the world. The distinctiveness of Christians’ character and the holy lives naturally works to transform culture. If they are removed out of it, the rest would soon become as Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa.1:9)

Jesus is pointing right at you and declaring "you are the salt of the earth!” Does your presence “season” your surrounding making it a better place for others to be? Is your speech always characterized with an  amiable flavor? Does a purifying and therapeutic influence follow you wher­ever you go? Do people desire to be Christians like you? Do you make unbelievers thirsty for the God?"

 

If those qualities are true of you, then you are distinct. You are going in a completely different direction than this world. You are salt. What a wonderful and extraordinarily role God has given you. What a great honor you have to be the most important and most needed thing in this world. Think of the implications - you have a great purpose in God's plan and you have it all the time in every place you go!

Little does the world think how much they are indebted to those very Christians whom they “revile and persecute for righteousness’ sake”(Matt 5:11). Yet Christians are the most precious, most valuable and most relevant people on earth! Don't let the world make you feel unimportant or irrelevant, because the truest thing that can be said of you is not what the world says, but what God says.

It might have seemed ridiculous to a bystander for Jesus to say to a handful of ordinary men, "You are the salt of the earth”. Yet that little band, that pinch of salt, started something that has survived the centuries and changed the history of mankind.