Jesus taught in Matthew 5:13 that those whose hope is in Him are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. If we continue reading through verse 19, we can understand that by our obedience to God we make the world palatable, and as verse 16 teaches, that in doing so, the world will see (or taste) and will glorify God. When people encounter one of God's people, they should be able to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8), and to see the world as it is, and their own lives as they could be. When the rubber meets the road, though, there is often a disconnect between the testimony of the mouths and the actions of some. Gentlemen, let that never be said of us. We cannot look at the dark days that we live in and shrink back, because "we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Hebrews 10:39). Let our homes be like the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth, who "were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord," even in the days of wicked King Herod (Luke 1:5-6).
Our commission today is not only to survive, but to "make the most of [our] time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). The Greek word translated "make the most of" is exagorazo, and is defined by Strong's Concordance as "to buy up, i.e. ransom; (figurative) to rescue from loss (improve opportunity)." "If the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men" (Matthew 5:13b).