26 October 2008
Worth Your Salt
October/27/2008 01:14 PM
Worth Your Salt
In Luke 14:34-35 Jesus said, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears let him hear.”
Salt is a wonderful thing. As a natural preservative, it helps keep things fresh and as a healing aid, it helps mend wounds. Of Course, let’s not forget, that it makes things taste much better! Jesus is saying that if we as His disciples, live righteously, our presence in the earth will bring salvation and preservation to those around us. I believe that the Spirit of God, who dwells in us, can bring healing to another as we share truly good tasting things to those who are spiritually starving.
That’s great news; but what if we lose our saltiness? Jesus said that if salt loses it savor, it’s useless because you can’t plant it or even use it as fertilizer to enrich the soil! It is just thrown away. When this happens to us, we are no longer an influence for those in the Kingdom of God, nor are we useful to those in the world who need preservation and salvation.
As I was meditating on this salty scripture, the phrase “worth your salt” came to me. I immediately Googled the phrase to find out its origin and true meaning. I’m not usually into a lot of trivia, but the information about salt is very interesting.
The phrase, “worth your salt”, began with the ancient Romans. During this era, salt was considered healthy, very valuable, and at times, difficult to acquire. Many Roman soldiers’ wages were paid with actual salt, while other soldiers were given a salarium, which was an allowance to purchase salt. The word soldier literally meant, “one who is paid with salt.” Also, the ‘sal’ in the word salarium is Latin for pay. Over the years, the word salarium was shortened and introduced into the English language as the word “salary”. Therefore, if someone is worth their salt, they are worth the wages they are paid.
Very interesting, huh? I thought so too! Think about what Jesus was saying. He challenges us to stay salty, or be worth our salt, so we can receive our reward ,or wages, in heaven! Where did He say that? In Matthew 5:11-13, Jesus is talking about salt again.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…
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.”
So, what makes us salty and how do we stay that way? Hold onto that thought until next week!
“He who has ears let him hear….”
- Jesus
kimconnor@whwc.org
In Luke 14:34-35 Jesus said, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears let him hear.”
Salt is a wonderful thing. As a natural preservative, it helps keep things fresh and as a healing aid, it helps mend wounds. Of Course, let’s not forget, that it makes things taste much better! Jesus is saying that if we as His disciples, live righteously, our presence in the earth will bring salvation and preservation to those around us. I believe that the Spirit of God, who dwells in us, can bring healing to another as we share truly good tasting things to those who are spiritually starving.
That’s great news; but what if we lose our saltiness? Jesus said that if salt loses it savor, it’s useless because you can’t plant it or even use it as fertilizer to enrich the soil! It is just thrown away. When this happens to us, we are no longer an influence for those in the Kingdom of God, nor are we useful to those in the world who need preservation and salvation.
As I was meditating on this salty scripture, the phrase “worth your salt” came to me. I immediately Googled the phrase to find out its origin and true meaning. I’m not usually into a lot of trivia, but the information about salt is very interesting.
The phrase, “worth your salt”, began with the ancient Romans. During this era, salt was considered healthy, very valuable, and at times, difficult to acquire. Many Roman soldiers’ wages were paid with actual salt, while other soldiers were given a salarium, which was an allowance to purchase salt. The word soldier literally meant, “one who is paid with salt.” Also, the ‘sal’ in the word salarium is Latin for pay. Over the years, the word salarium was shortened and introduced into the English language as the word “salary”. Therefore, if someone is worth their salt, they are worth the wages they are paid.
Very interesting, huh? I thought so too! Think about what Jesus was saying. He challenges us to stay salty, or be worth our salt, so we can receive our reward ,or wages, in heaven! Where did He say that? In Matthew 5:11-13, Jesus is talking about salt again.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…
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.”
So, what makes us salty and how do we stay that way? Hold onto that thought until next week!
“He who has ears let him hear….”
- Jesus
kimconnor@whwc.org
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