“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt…”

Salt seasons and preserves—but it also stings when it’s applied to a wound. That sting isn’t cruelty—it’s care. Without it, the infection spreads.

As followers of Jesus, we’re called to bring truth into conversations, even when it risks tension. But sometimes we avoid speaking the gospel because we’re afraid of losing a relationship. We convince ourselves that preserving peace is more important than preserving truth.

Jesus warns that this is where salt loses its purpose. If my goal is to make sure everyone feels comfortable with me, I will stop saying the things that most need to be said. That’s not kindness—that’s compromise, no matter how you spin it.

The gospel is the ultimate preservative. It’s what keeps souls from eternal decay. And if I refuse to share it to keep a friendship intact, I’m actually withholding the very thing that relationship needs most.

If…then. If I’m salt, then my love for people must include telling them the truth about Jesus. Silence may keep the friendship, but it cannot save the soul.

Salt that only sweetens isn’t salt—it’s sugar. And Jesus didn’t call us the sugar of the earth. He called us salt—truth-tellers who love enough to risk the relationship for the sake of the gospel.

Prayerfully choose one person and start a gospel conversation with them this week. Season your words with grace, but don’t leave out the truth.

Lord, give me courage to love people enough to tell them the truth. Guard me from compromise that values comfort over eternity. Season my words with grace, but let them carry the salt of the gospel so that lives can be preserved in You. Amen.