Savory salt...

Savory salt...

By Fred Gillett, Crystal Cathedral Pastor

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."

-Matthew 5:13

After several days of work teaching, healing, and doing God's work throughout Galilee, Jesus went up to the mountains and gathered his disciples for a pep talk. In what we refer to as the "Beatitudes," Jesus gave some Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (B.I.B.L.E.) to be a lesson for them and us.

The part of this talk that bewildered me is that found in Matthew 5:13. I couldn't figure out why He would warn them (us), his salt, about losing our "savor?" I called Morton Salt Company to ask them how salt can lose its savor and they said, "It can't. After some research, I discovered that back in the time of Jesus, there were charlatans who would sell packets of salt that was good salt on top but sand at the bottom. If you didn't carefully inspect the contents, shake the sack and taste it before buying it, you would get salt that was "good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."

There are a lot of "religious" charlatans out there, as well as many learned and spirit-filled believers. We need to shake and taste before buying, not the imposter's bag of worthless sand, but the savory goodness of the Lord's true word.

Prayer: Lord, you are the Savior and the savor of my life. Use me this day to add savor to all you put in my path. Amen.