Salt has been used in many cultures as a valuable commodity. During Roman times, salt was so precious it provided a means to pay soldiers.
Our English word salary comes from the word salarium, a name given to this mineral when it functioned as a currency. Its value as a rare commodity during the Middle Ages earned salt the nickname of white gold. Someone who earns his pay is said to be, worth his salt. Although we are not mere pillars of salt, 0.4 % of our body’s weight is salt. This is a concentration nearly the equivalent of seawater.
Humans cannot live without salt. It is an essential nutrient but something our bodies cannot produce itself. Sodium regulates the electrical charges moving in and out of the cells in the body. It controls our taste, smell, and tactile processes. The presence of Sodium ions is essential for the contraction of muscles, including that largest and most important muscle, the heart. When we sweat or cry salt is released from our bodies. Thus, we need to consume (according to the federal government’s official dietary guidelines) a maximum of 2,300 milligrams of sodium every day.
We are valuable and precious in the sight of God. So precious, Jesus bought us with His blood. When God paid the price of His Son to purchase His people from sin and guilt, the ransom was for our bodies and our souls. We are to commanded to use our fleshly bodies to glorify and serve Him by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NKJV)
“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings.” 1 Corinthians 7:23 (NKJV)
Matthew 5:13 defines believers as the salt of the earth. We are called to flavor the world! As salt, we can make the world thirst for the Word of God. We must use our words, like salt, to season and benefit those we talk to. This verse also contains a warning. We are to make sure we don’t lose our flavor. If this happens, we are good for nothing. Useless.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:13 (NKJV)
“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Colossians 4:5-6 (NKJV)
To keep ourselves salty we need to be in the Word daily. The Bible is the actual LIVING Word of God. Within its pages, we find direction, hope, and the means to encourage and exhort those we work with and meet throughout our day. Attending church services and meeting with other Christians who sharpen us will also keep us seasoned.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV)
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
Salt also has preservative qualities. For centuries it has been used as an agent to slow down the decay of meat and other foods. Christians who obey God and do His will act as preservatives. We can slow down the moral and spiritual decay of the world by sprinkling the salt of the Gospel on every person we meet.
May we all strive to be the salt of the earth. I pray Almighty God seasons us with His wisdom, grace, love, and power. He bought us and we belong to Him. We are His children but we are also His property to use according to His good and perfect will. May we be incense before His throne, pure and holy.
“And make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred.” Exodus 30:35 (NIV)
“Everyone will be salted with fire.” Mark 9:49 (NIV)