Matthew 5:13, New International Version

“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.” 

"Pass the salt, please." That's a phrase that's commonly heard at the table while eating. Salt is a flavoring that gives otherwise dull and bland food some flavor. It's used for cooking and preserving. Salt was used as a cleansing agent for wounds. No human life is possible without sodium chloride or salt and salt is the only trace mineral that is found in every cell in the human body. Without it, the organism would cease to function, therefore, salt is a biological necessity.

Jesus once talked about the relationship between believers and their being salt in the world. Salt is valuable to human life and so Christians are to be an extension of Jesus Christ and we offer the message of this priceless gift of eternal life in Christ. Without Christ, eternal life in the kingdom is impossible. The problem is if we lose our testimony, and our life is no different than the unbelieving world then we lose our saltiness and then it’s only good to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Bland salt is useless, but good salt seasons everything it touches. 

Sometimes, when Christians lose their testimony, they often become bitter and lose their saltiness. When Christians become bitter, their saltiness is lost, and they are not good for much more than repairing a leaky roof and only to be trampled underfoot. They lose their effectiveness to be a witness for Christ.

Paul reminds us in Colossians 4:6 (NIV) when he wrote “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Christians who lose their saltiness become bitter and hardened and are of little use anymore…except to be trampled underfoot. 

In the book of Mark (9:49-50, NIV) it says, “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another”. Salt that’s lost its saltiness cannot help us “be at peace with one another” but will in fact only serve as irritants. Salt was actually a vital part of the grain offerings in the Old Testament and allowed them to make peace with God.

This is why Jesus said that we are to be the salt of the earth… the salt to those who are perishing without Christ, enhancing everything we come in contact with, acting as a life-preserving agent by proclaiming the Author of Life and to avoid the hardness, bitterness and flavorlessness of losing our testimony.