Colossians 4:6
“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
During this pandemic, I have dabbled in baking. Now, I am not going to appear on any of the cooking shows on TV anytime soon, but I have enjoyed making some delicious treats! As I began to make these sweet treats, I did not understand the necessity of putting salt in desserts. Why would I put something salty in something that should be sweet? It seems counter-productive to do that!
I read online that salt brings out the natural flavors of the other ingredients and it simply makes food taste good. Basically, salt is used to make the other stuff around it better.
In this verse, the Apostle Paul gives us instructions on how to communicate properly with those around us! I believe that these instructions should be applied not only to the conversations we have in person but also with the ones we have online.
1) We should be gracious when we talk with others.
What does gracious mean in regards to our communications? I believe that this means that we should be respectful and courteous with those we speak with.
Our society is polarized in so many ways. No one agrees on anything anymore. However, as Christians, we should be gracious with everyone that we communicate with. Does this mean that we have to agree with everyone? Certainly not. However, every conversation that we have should be courteous and respectful even if it is only one-sided. After all, we can only control our words. Therefore, let’s be gracious!
2) We should be uplifting when we talk to others.
As Paul said in this verse, our communication should be seasoned with salt. Just as salt makes the ingredients in food taste better, do we make people better with our speech? When people get done talking with us, do they leave encouraged? Do they feel better about themselves?
Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”
If we understand and follow this principle, then we can speak life into those around us. Our city needs people who will be gracious and uplifting in their speech. You may be wondering, “Who should I encourage today?”
Chick-Fil-A Founder Truett Cathy said this, “How do you identify someone who needs encouragement? That person is breathing.”
Every person that you pass in the store or at the mall could use some encouragement. This even includes the person that cut you off in line and the person that disagreed with you on Facebook.
Remember, we can only control our side of the conversation. I hope that we will be gracious and uplifting in our conversations both in-person and online.
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