Salt, Not Sugar

He did not call us to be sugar on the tongue,

To melt into the moment,

To sweeten every room until truth dissolved.

Sugar wins smiles,

But it vanishes in heat

And leaves nothing behind.

He called us salt.

Though they look the same upon first glance,

The flavor makes the truth known quickly

Salt that stings open wounds,

Not to harm,

But to cleanse what would rot unseen.

Salt that draws out infection,

That refuses to let decay call itself peace.

It is not always welcomed,

But it is always necessary.

Salt preserves what time tries to steal,

Guards the sacred from spoiling,

Holds the line when culture shifts its weight.

It does not change its nature

To be palatable—

It stays sharp,

Even when the world prefers soft lies.

Sugar comforts for a moment,

But salt sustains.

Sugar pleases crowds,

But salt saves souls.

We were never asked to be liked,

Only to be faithful.

So let us be salt on tired soil,

Hands rough with obedience,

Hearts steady in truth.

Let us season the earth with grace and conviction,

Knowing the sting may come first—

But healing follows.

Because the world does not need more sweetness

That fades by morning,

It needs a people who preserve light,

Who keep the truth from spoiling,

Who dare to be salt

In a land addicted to sugar.

“You are the salt of the earth,” He said,

Not might be,

Not someday,

But in boldness that we are.

And if salt loses its savor,

What then is left

To keep the world from decay?

Let our words be seasoned with grace,

Not watered down,

Not coated to please,

But spoken in love and truth—

Speech that heals

Because it is honest.

For light was never meant to hide,

And salt was never meant to stay in the shaker.

We are poured out,

Scattered across broken ground,

Trusting God with the harvest.

Better the sting that leads to life

Than the sweetness that leaves souls starving.

Better to preserve what is holy

Than to blend in and be forgotten.

So we stand,

Faithful in flavor,

Unashamed of the sharpness,

Knowing the same Word that wounds

Also restores.

And when the earth tastes the difference,

May it hunger not for sugar—

But for righteousness,

For truth,

For the living God

For fresh salt