Keeping Our Zest

During the Civil War, Southern states relied on salt perhaps even more than their Northern counterparts. The commodity preserved various foods—such as fish—and allowed more people to eat and even keep food supplied for a rainy day.

As the Union troops began capturing Confederate saltworks, the food supplies there literally began drying up. It was one of the things that led to the end of the war, as food supplies literally not only lost their taste, but their preservative qualities. Things got so bad in the last 18 months of the war that some people were reduced to eating tree roots and other non-food vegetation. Not exactly an appetizing meal!

Matthew 5:13 says, “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 underfoot.”

As ambassadors for Christ, we must make sure that our salt does not lose its effectiveness. We must stay alert, so the enemy doesn’t steal the zest which makes our boldness in sharing Christ effective. Doing so requires vigilance and much prayer, consistently.

Let’s pray.

Lord, we must be on guard against the enemy, who wants to keep us from sharing your Good News. Help us stay alert at all times, so that our witness endures. Amen.