p. 43 | The Salt of the Earth by J. O. C.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 6, 1879

The Salt of the Earth.

By J. O. C.

Our Saviour said to his disciples, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Every one knows in what the goodness of salt consists. It is valuable for its saving property. When that is gone, it becomes entirely worthless. But it may retain all its strength even, and yet not exercise any saving power. Any one who would pack meat in a barrel, and then place a sack of salt by the side of it, expecting thereby to save it, would be considered insane. With good reason too, you may say; for any one with the slightest knowledge of such things knows that salt placed in that relation to meat could have no effect whatever upon it. Yet there are thousands in the world who are virtually doing the same thing in their Christian experience.

Notwithstanding the Saviour has said of his followers, “Ye are the salt of the earth,” they do not seem to realize that they are to represent him. They seem satisfied to lean on their neighbors and friends without doing them any good.

If there is any point enforced in the language under consideration, it is this, that to be a real disciple of Christ one must exert a saving influence on others. This, however, cannot be done by simply living among them, but only by continual efforts to benefit them. Unselfish efforts to do others good may cost a sacrifice; yet as the salt can only impart its savor by exhausting itself, so it will be finally seen that our goodness consisted only in our willingness to spend and be spent in our Master's service, to save souls unto him. Without this we shall be “good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.” Who will have it said of them, “Ye are the salt of the earth”? J. O. C.