"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).

Salt has three useful characteristics that are like those that the believer exhibits here upon this earth. First, it acts as a preservative. Our efforts and testimony should act to slow the decay of the world round about us. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

Secondly, salt has pharmaceutical advantages. It can reduce the risk of infection and thus hasten healing. Proverbs 27:17 says that as "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." Believers can have an impact on those around us by exhorting to godliness and restraining evil. We can also help restore one that has fallen into Satan's traps. "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1).

Thirdly, salt improves bland foods that might otherwise be distasteful, making it palatable. Job 6:6 asks the rhetorical question: "Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" One might wonder how a Christian resembles salt in this way. When the sin of society has become so repugnant that divine judgment is being contemplated, there is a consideration for the number of righteous in the land. Recollect how Abraham interceded for Sodom and discovered that if only ten righteous had lived there, the city would have been spared! Let's make sure we are indeed being spiritual salt to a needy world around us. DW