The Inspired Word says, “Let your speech always be with grace, as through seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” – Col. 4:6.
Paul talks about our tongue and our speech in this verse. It hits close to home in all of us. As James said, “If we do not sin with out tongue, we can control the whole body.” I know that my tongue does cause me to sin from time to time. I may speak too rashly, say something with a taste of sarcasm, or just be emotionally charged by a statement or a whole group of statements that I later regret.
Yes, the tongue is a poison and can set a whole forest on fire. It can ignite an argument in an instant. It can cause people at peace to become enemies in a few moments just by words. Our hearts and our tongues are closely related and connected. We need to be careful when we speak!
Paul tells us that our speech should always by with grace (lovingkindness, showing love towards others). We need to be like a hard boiled egg when we sprinkle some salt on it to make it tasty. I enjoy eggs with toast, especially when the yolk is runny. I appreciate the salt and how it makes it taste so good. Hmmm, maybe one would be good right now with a toast and plenty of butter on it?
How do we respond to other people in our lives? What do we say that is gracious when they do not deserve a kind word from us? It is so easy to be abrasive, mean, or uncouth (lacking in manners or social graces). We speak and then we strive to justify ourselves in what we stated. We lose our saltiness and we can never take back the nasty things that we just stated.
And, some people never forget what we said, even if they do not quote us correctly. That even makes it worse. We focus on their misstatement(s) and even more find room to justify ourselves for what we did say.
Yes, I need to be careful what I say and the way I say things. My wife reminds me from time to time about the way I said it. Yes, God wants us to speak graciously as seasoned with salt. Is that the way you speak to others, especially towards those who do not especially “like” you? This is a reminder to think about the way you are speaking to every person in your life.
In His love,
Pastor Les
Paul talks about our tongue and our speech in this verse. It hits close to home in all of us. As James said, “If we do not sin with out tongue, we can control the whole body.” I know that my tongue does cause me to sin from time to time. I may speak too rashly, say something with a taste of sarcasm, or just be emotionally charged by a statement or a whole group of statements that I later regret.
Yes, the tongue is a poison and can set a whole forest on fire. It can ignite an argument in an instant. It can cause people at peace to become enemies in a few moments just by words. Our hearts and our tongues are closely related and connected. We need to be careful when we speak!
Paul tells us that our speech should always by with grace (lovingkindness, showing love towards others). We need to be like a hard boiled egg when we sprinkle some salt on it to make it tasty. I enjoy eggs with toast, especially when the yolk is runny. I appreciate the salt and how it makes it taste so good. Hmmm, maybe one would be good right now with a toast and plenty of butter on it?
How do we respond to other people in our lives? What do we say that is gracious when they do not deserve a kind word from us? It is so easy to be abrasive, mean, or uncouth (lacking in manners or social graces). We speak and then we strive to justify ourselves in what we stated. We lose our saltiness and we can never take back the nasty things that we just stated.
And, some people never forget what we said, even if they do not quote us correctly. That even makes it worse. We focus on their misstatement(s) and even more find room to justify ourselves for what we did say.
Yes, I need to be careful what I say and the way I say things. My wife reminds me from time to time about the way I said it. Yes, God wants us to speak graciously as seasoned with salt. Is that the way you speak to others, especially towards those who do not especially “like” you? This is a reminder to think about the way you are speaking to every person in your life.
In His love,
Pastor Les
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