Salt

In Matthew 5:13 (TNIV), Jesus told his disciples and a crowd on a mountainside, "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 underfoot."

In Biblical days, salt had a variety of uses. It was used to prepare, season, and flavor food, just as it is today. But salt also was used as a fertilizer, and it also was used as currency. That's right. Salt was used as a type of money. It was considered a very valuable commodity.

I believe that Jesus is referring to all three of these uses when He talks about salt in this verse. Like salt as a seasoner, we must add flavor and improve the quality of everything and everyone around us. Like salt as a fertilizer, we must help others grow, particularly in the Word and in their faith walk. And like salt as currency, we must have value in this society, and be of worth and use during the time that we are given on this planet.

Salt had different uses when Jesus walked the earth, and all of its uses were important and valuable and served to improve things. That is what we should be doing today. That is why we must be like salt.