What a compliment to be told you are “the Salt of the Earth!”
We live in very health conscious times and salt seems to have become enemy number one at the moment. It used to be butter, and then it was sugar, now its salt.
But what do we really know about salt?
We know that salt is a preservative. Many consider it a better preservative than sugar. It is used to preserve foods and in ancient history it was the main preservative used for meat, fish and other fresh foods. Salt is most commonly known as flavouring agent for our food. A pinch of salt added to savoury dishes brings out the flavour of the food. It is used as an antiseptic to wash and clean wounds and bring about healing. It is also used as a de-icer on roads and paths to melt snow and ice and make travel ways safe. Salt has played a vital part in religious ritual in many cultures, and symbolises purity.
And of course there is more than one type of salt. Salt, just like ourselves has it’s own individuality. It is a naturally occurring mineral and so its flavour will vary depending on where it is mined from. Some of the more common salts are Sea salt, Himalayan Pink salt and Black salt – from India
What we often don’t recognise is, that salt alone has relatively little use. It is when salt is combined with other ingredients that it does its best work. When used as a preservative salt is combined with water to make brine or with vinegar to make a preserving solution. When salt is added to food correctly, it is not the salt that one should taste. Salt draws out the flavours of the ingredients in the dish.
This is why being compared to the salt of the earth is such a precious compliment. It means that not only do you add something by your presence, but that your presence draws out the best in others. You facilitate others to become more than they were without your presence. It means that in combination with others you cause great things to happen. You bring energy, power, vigour and vitality. Being salt of the earth means that you bring healing and purity wherever you go. You may not be the main ingredient, but you make all the other ingredients better for your presence and contribution.
There is no greater compliment than to be told you are the “salt of the earth”