You are the Salt of the Earth

Continuing my meditation and study of Salt, I am led to Matt 5:13:

“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 by men."

Burton Coffman commentary adds this about the salt losing its flavor:

The surface waters of the Dead Sea, on evaporation, have a chemical salts content of about 31 percent sodium chloride, 13 percent calcium chloride, and 48 percent magnesium chloride, together with other impurities. The calcium and magnesium chlorides are hygroscopic (take water out of the air) and will thus literally dissolve the sodium chloride. A bitter tasting composition results. It was the custom to store vast amounts of this salt in houses that had earthen floors. In time, the salt next to the ground spoiled because of the dampness (the water drawn in by the calcium and magnesium literally dissolves the sodium -  the good tasting salt). Since it would be harmful to fertile land because of its salt content, no man would allow it to be thrown on his field. The only place left was the street, where it was trodden under foot of man. Thus the Bible was proved scientifically accurate, even in its many small details - for this was just a lone example.

So, taking this characteristic of the salt in Israel into account, Jesus is saying that if our faith is dissolved or negatively impacted by things that are not pure truth (adding to it, religion, heretical teaching, etc.). We will lose our flavor and become useless.  The truth (flavor) is slowly dissolved out of us by those things around us that are not of Him, that we allow in our life. I  can see how this creates a lifeless church that is so given over to religion, that there is no truth left. I see the corruption of the world creeping into the church so that over time the truth is lost all together.

(NIV)2 Corinthians 2:14-16
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. [15] For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. [16] To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?

This aroma is looking back at the incense before the Lord, which was required to be salted and pure (Exodus 30:35). In our call from Jesus to be the salt of the earth, we are in essence this aroma, this incense. Our presence is supposed to help sanctify and purify those around us, and lead them to God and His eternal covenant of life - made possible through Jesus sacrifice.

Amen - help us Lord. Who is equal to such a task? Lord without your quidance and empowerment, none of us is capable.