Salt without Taste

Matt 5:13"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

Mark 9:50"Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

Luke 14:34-35 "Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? "It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."


The parable of the salt losing its saltiness can be looked at two ways: individually and the church as the body of Christ.

Each one of us can be compared to a few grains of salt (individually) within a larger container of salt (the body of Christ).

What does salt do? It preserves, it flavors, and it creates thirst.

Salt was used to preserve meat prior to refrigeration. We are called to the preservation of the peoples of the earth through the proclamation of salvation through Christ (Matthew). We are also called to preserve ourselves (Mark).

Salt adds flavor to food. Too many people have the misconception that being a Christian means living a boring “rules and regulations” life. It is too bad that many Christians seem to foster that very image by being judgmental and harsh, both towards non-Christians and towards fellow believers. In Mark it says that we are to have salt in ourselves, and be at peace with one another. There is nothing wrong with having “flavor” in your life.

Salt creates thirst. The Holy Spirit is often depicted as water. Jesus also said “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4:14). As Christians, we are sent out into the world to create a thirst for Jesus Christ. A significant portion of our witness is how the world witnesses our actions. They see what we “have” and want to know where we “got it”. If a person does not see the satisfaction of our own quenched “thirst”, why would they desire to seek it for themselves?

The emphasis, however, seems to be on the salt “losing its saltiness”. How does salt lose its saltiness? Can a grain of salt actually become “unsalty”? Salt can become “unsalty” only through one process – dilution. When other material gets mixed in with the salt, it loses its “saltiness”. It becomes less effective.

How do Christians, as salt of the earth, become diluted?

We become diluted when we mix too much of the world in with our witness and our lives.

When we are diluted, our ability to witness is compromised and we become unable to preserve others through a clear, accurate, and concise presentation of the gospel of Christ.

When we are diluted, we lose our own flavor and begin to look and act like everyone else. We also have a difficult time being “at peace with one another”. We become too rigid and legalistic.

When we are diluted, we no longer create a thirst in other people. Why would someone want what we have, when it is the same thing they have?

What happens when salt loses its flavor? It becomes useless. Does this mean that a Christian, as salt, loses their salvation? No. It means that their Christian witness becomes useless. It is no longer effective towards the furthering of the kingdom of God and is to be “trampled under foot”.

We need to take a thorough and honest look at ourselves every day and ask ourselves if we have become diluted. Are we allowing too many of the worlds standards to take the place of the Godly standards in our lives? If so, we need to “undilute” ourselves. It may be painful, it may take a long time (one grain at a time), but I would rather that, than see those footprints on my forehead when I look in the mirror.