Salt of the Earth

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

“Dadgum horse,” Vernon grumbled, and went into the barn to get some salt. 

“Whatcha doin’ Grandpa?” Billy, his six-year-old grandson, asked. 

“I can’t get Jack to drink, so I’m gettin’ some salt to put in his oats.” 

“What good will that do?” 

“It’ll make ‘im thirsty and want to drink.”

“It will!?”

“Yep. Same way we can be with people.” 

“Huh?”

“The Bible says we are the salt of the earth. Some people can be like Jack and resist God when we talk to them and try to lead them to God. But we can live out our faith by our actions and that can cause them to be curious. It’s like we’re putting salt in their oats.” 

Billy scratched his head and scrunched up his face. Vernon smiled and added the salt to Jack’s oats. 

“How does that work?”

“Let’s see.” Now Vernon scrunched up his face and thought back many years to when he was in the Army. “I was in the Army and talked to some o’ the guys in my platoon about God, but they weren’t interested. Then, one day, this soldier I’d never talked to came up to me and started asking me questions about God.” 

“He did?” 

“Yep. Said he saw how I lived and acted and he wanted to know what I know.”

“So, you made him thirsty?” 

“Yep, but, did you know salt can lose its saltiness and then it doesn’t do any good? People can lose their saltiness as well.”

“How can a person lose their salt?” 

“Their saltiness,” Vernon chuckled. “Well, suppose I did some unchristian like things when I thought no one was looking, but that guy saw me.”

“He wouldn’t be interested anymore.” 

“Yep, he’d get turned away and might never ever ask anyone about God.” 

“You lost your salti…”

“Saltiness. Yep, I lost my saltiness and should be thrown out.” 

“I don’t want you thrown out, Grandpa,” Billy wrapped his arms around Vernon’s legs.

Vernon picked him up and patted his back. 

Just then, Jack walked over to the water trough and started slurping the water.

“Look, Grandpa! It worked!”

“Yep, that it did.”

Let us always be the salt of the earth.