reliable, good, hard-working people
—My neighborhood isn’t the fanciest in the city, but that’s why I like it. It’s filled with regular, salt-of-the-earth people.

One of Jesus’ most famous speeches is called “The Sermon on the Mount.” It includes several phrases that are currently well known, such as salt of the earth. In Jesus’ time, salt was considered valuable, as it served many purposes, including preserving or adding flavor to food. Jesus called his disciples the salt of the earth, but he also added a warning:

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. (Matthew 5:13)