Jesus speaks more highly of us than we even realize so we live far below who we are because we don’t know who He says we are. Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). My friends, we have not been told the truth about how valuable we are. We have been taught to do religious works, but we have not been told how valuable we are to God. We have been taught to strive, struggle, strain at the oars, and we have been told God loves us. But we have not been taught our value and because of this we buy into all the religious rhetoric that is not the kingdom of God.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” He said it this way in Mark 9:50 “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.” YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH…YOU MUST HAVE THE QUALITIES OF SALT AMONG YOURSELVES.

Calling you salt makes many of us think of the $1 table salt, that does not seem to carry much value, then we are told we are preservers, yes great, but still does not really communicate what Jesus is saying here. Jesus understood the value of salt, this is why He called us the salt of the earth, but we don’t understand it’s value that is why we don’t realize how valuable we truly are. I did a study this morning on the history of salt and what I learned blew my mind. Being called SALT is a huge value statement.

1. All life depends on the chemical properties of salt to survive.

2. Salt’s ability to preserve food was a founding contributor to the development of civilization.

3. All through history, availability of salt has been pivotal to civilization.

4. Salt was of high value to Jews, Greeks, Chinese, Tamils, Hittities and other people’s of antiquity.

5. Salt in Chinese history was both a driver of technological development and a stable source of revenue for the imperial government.

6. Salt has played a prominent role in determining the power and location of the world’s great cities.

7. Salt created and destroyed empires.

8. Salt was a form of currency.

(Wikipedia)

Friends do you see how valuable salt is? Do you see how powerful salt is? Do you see why Jesus said “You are the salt of the earth?” We are powerful, we are valuable, we are needed on the earth. You are salt, you are needed on the earth, don’t buy into the idea we are getting yanked out of here, if we are gone, so is the earth and the Bible says, the earth is the Lord’s and all who dwell in it. He left us here to add value, but we must know who we are and realize how valuable we are. This is the truth about why Jesus said we are the salt of the earth and these are the qualities we bring to the earth!