Salt -- The Most Essential yet Controversial Element on Earth

I used to enjoy shopping for food. My only concern was buying what my family liked and what they would eat. I was concerned about nutrition, but the science was less sophisticated then than today, and I didn’t stress out about corn products, corn syrup, organic vs. inorganic. And Trans Fats were unheard of!

Even salmonella wasn’t a concern. On Christmas morning our family breakfast consisted of sliced oranges, fresh eggnog made from raw eggs, and mom’s famous homemade doughnuts. And horror of horrors, I roasted our Christmas turkey on low overnight with the stuffing inside! “Believe it or not,” no one got sick from it, either, in over 30 years.

I don’t know if we’re more paranoid today, or if the problem is having more food handlers from all around the world and less compliance on safety in spite of having more regulations than ever in history.  Whatever the reasons, more and more people are getting food related illnesses.

We’re told that shopping for food has never been easier, or is it? There are millions of labels, each with its own list of ingredients and additives. There are salt free products for people with high blood pressure and heart conditions. Sugar free and low carbohydrate foods for people with diabetes. The cost of regulating every product to meet every health related condition or disease is costing all of us more and more money. The medical community adds to this confusion.

Is salt good for us or isn’t it? Are eggs bad for high cholesterol or do the benefits outweigh the negatives? If a product says “fat free” can I safely eat it without worrying about calories? Food producers add their own spin, and the regulators have a heyday. Many consumers have thrown up their hands and said “forget about it.” No wonder we are a nation of plenty with more obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease than almost any other country.

At one point in the history of mankind, salt was the main thing people worried about; their focus: not having enough of it!  Salt was valued not only for its properties to enhance the taste of food, but for its ability to preserve food as well; a sought after commodity in a time when refrigeration was non-existent. Salt was used to dry and preserve meats. It was used in the brining and pickling process of olives, fruits and vegetables. Even the dead were preserved in salt until the burial process was complete.

Because of demand, salt was taxed, and taxed, and over taxed by governments who recognized its value. India’s rebellion against Britain for taxing salt caused an uprising. Today, a gift of salt endures in India as a potent symbol of good luck and a reference to Mahatma Gandhi's liberation of India, which included a symbolic walk to the sea to gather tax-free salt for the nation's poor.

Countries with salt mines and resources were plundered by those who had none. Wars were fought; people and nations were held hostage to ruthless governments all for the need and want of salt. It was necessary for survival. It was deemed as valuable as gold or silver, diamonds or emeralds. And yet as important as this product is to the entire world, it is still mined in much the same way as it was thousands of years ago.

Rock salt is actually clumps of crystals. It is the only rock in history to be consumed by humans. It preserves and yet it also may corrode. Salt desecrates the purity of water and kills plant life, but it can be separated from water and used in its pure state to flavor and preserve.

It has remained a magical and mystical property down through the ages:

“Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea.” Pythagoras (580 BC – 500 BC)

“It is a true saying that a man must eat a peck of salt with his friend before he knows him.” Miguel de Cervantes, “Don Quixote”

“Of All smells, bread; of all tastes, salt” George Herbert, English poet (1593-1633)

Saltis used as a metaphor in the Bible. In the New Testament, Matthew 5:13, Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth". He added that if the salt loses its flavor, it is good for nothing but to be trampled. Jesus said this in order to show his disciples how valuable they were and this saying is commonly used today to describe someone who is of particular value to society, i.e. “worth his salt.”

The disciples were called to preserve the society and the world around them from moral decay. On another occasion, according to the Gospels, Jesus commanded his followers to "have salt within them as the following passages suggest:

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing, but to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matt 5:13)

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” (Col 4:6)

Salt’s whiteness and purity have remained a symbol for life and for spiritual perfection.  In the painting of "The Last Supper," Judas Iscariot has just spilled a bowl of salt - a portent of evil and bad luck. To this day, the tradition endures that someone who spills salt should throw a pinch over his left shoulder to ward off any devils that may be lurking behind.

“There are more than 30 references to salt in the Bible. Covenants in both the Old and New Testaments were often sealed with salt: the origin of the word "salvation. In the Old Testament, Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt. Author Sallie Tisdale notes that salt is as free as the water suspending it when it's dissolved, and as immutable as stone when it's dry - a fitting duality for Lot's wife, who overlooks Sodom to this day.”

An amazing resource: http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_HistoryOfSalt.asp#historyUS

If you were asked to describe what salt tastes like could you? When Christ asked his followers to become as salt, could you explain what he meant? In the same token, could you describe what faith is? Could you explain how it affects your life and the lives of others?

Christians are to be salt of the earth. We are to flavor, to influence, to affect the world around us in much the same way that salt increases the taste of food. By virtue of our purity (or lack thereof) we are to cleanse and sanctify the earth; to preserve our fellow beings from sin and destruction.