Pastor’s Pen Oct 17

Let’s be worth our salt: 

You may have heard people say that someone is “worth their salt.” This idiom means that the person is valued and respected. Jesus also referred to His disciples as “salt,” saying:

“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,”    Mt 5:13

There are many uses for salt. It can be used to cleanse and purify. If you’ve ever had a tooth removed you may have been told to gently rinse in salt water. This prevents infection. Thus, the disciples, through prayer and word, by the Holy Spirit, brought cleansing to people, setting them free from spiritual impurities.

Salt is also used to preserve meat. It works by killing unwanted bacteria.

In the first century, Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt. It was considered just as valuable as money for it’s life-giving uses. Their pay was called “salarium” (“sal” is the Latin word for “salt”). This is where we get the English word “salary” from.

Lastly, salt is used to flavour things. It brings out the good taste in food. In its natural form salt cannot lose its saltiness over time unless additives are added.

The disciples would have understood that salt could lose its saltiness, because most of the salt in Israel came from the Dead Sea and was full of impurities, causing it to be bland and flavourless.

The moral of the story is that Christ desires that we disciples stay pure and holy, and in a close walk with Himself. In that way God can use us as witnesses to extend His Kingdom on earth. If we ourselves allow too much of worldly values to shape our lives then what good can we be in advancing the gospel. The church is meant to remain respected and something that others desire. That means that in everything, we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and we love our neighbour as ourselves.