More Than a Seasoning: Why I Want to Be Like Salt

In a recent gathering, I was asked a simple icebreaker: “If you could be like one thing, what would it be and why?” As my turn approached, I pondered the possibilities. I finally answered that I wish to be like salt. Salt possesses characteristic traits that mirror the kind of person I hope to become in Christ. Since that gathering, I’ve noticed more of the ways salt teaches spiritual lessons.

1. Causing Thirst

Salt draws out a thirst.  I’d like my conversation to cause others to thirst for God.  I wish to help others realize their need for the Living Water—Jesus Christ.  As Jesus told the woman at the well:

“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)

Some people try to satisfy their “thirst” by turning to alcohol, money, drugs, fame, etc., though it only lasts for a season.  Therefore, I need to continually remind myself never to “water down” (compromise) my message, so that it may not lose its “saltiness” and impact.

2. Seasoning the Conversation

Salt enhances flavor and makes things taste better. Matthew 5:13 says,

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?”

Colossians 4:6 instructs us, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Growing up, I didn’t know what it means.  Now, I want to uncompromisingly communicate the Christian faith in a way that is palatable—winsome, engaging, and thought-provoking.  My conversation should be “seasoned with salt,” that it not only causes others to thirst for more of God, but also makes an otherwise bland conversation come alive when possible.

3. Acting as a Preservative

Salt can be used as a means to preserve food from spoiling.  By absorbing water from foods, salt makes the environment too dry for bacteria or mold to grow.  Salting is one of the ways to preserve fish, for example.  I hope my conversation can be used as a “preservative” to encourage others during discouragement or trial, and thus to persevere in “running the race” of life.

4. Melting the Hardness

Salt can also be used to melt snow.  This is why some people pour salt over the snow on their driveway. It breaks down the hard, frozen barriers on a path.  I hope God can use my life to help soften cold, stony hearts, allowing God to mold them to His will.

A Lifelong Process

I am still a student in the lifelong process of learning to be the “salt of the earth.” I have much to learn, but one thing is certain: I will never look at a salt shaker the same way again.