I sat down for breakfast the other morning with a steaming cup of coffee and two pieces of toast. I am not a “white bread” type of person. I prefer a nutty, whole grain type of flavor, and am always in search of variety. I treated myself  to a new brand in the bakery section of my grocery store. It looked scrumptious!

As I sat down to eat, I took a nice big bite of my toast. YUCK! To my surprise and disappointment, the taste was completely bland. When I checked the label I noticed the words “No Salt Added.” Now, for anyone who is on a no-sodium diet, my apologies. I love the flavor, and could not tolerate my food without it.

I began to ponder the qualities and type of salt. Life does not end with ‘Morton’s’. We have pink Himalayan, sea salt, rock salt and epsom salts for soaking. Far from just a flavoring, it is a wonderful preservative. It increases the shelf life of canned and baked goods, and packaged food. It’s a fantastic tenderizer for tough cuts of meat. It can also be used as a disinfectant, though it does sting quite a bit. If you’ve ever gone into the ocean with a cut or scrape, you can relate. Salt Scrubs are available in the finest spas for invigorating cleansing.

I thought about how the scriptures call us the “salt of the earth” (Mathew 5:13). It even encourages our speech to be “seasoned with salt” (Col 4:6) so that it is well received by others, unlike my toast. The world without our flavoring would also be bland. We are called to add the seasonings of love, hope joy, forgiveness, patience and faith. We can become the “tenderizing agent” that the hardened hearts of this world desperately need.

I never did throw that bland loaf away. I found that after spreading it with cream cheese and jelly instead of butter, it tasted just fine. Much the same way, God never throws us to the side. He simply covers us with His love and forgiveness, enabling us to be perfectly flavored for His good work and purpose.