Salting our speech

Have you ever taken a bite of something that was really bland and then reached for the salt shaker? I know I’ve done that a few times! Some things just don’t taste very good until they’re seasoned with a bit of salt. It’s not that they’re bad, but something is missing. Once you add the salt, everything comes together and you can fully appreciate Mom’s good cooking.

Our words are often the same way. Colossians 4:6 says Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. That sounds odd! How do we salt our words? Well, in Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells us that You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Salt, in context, is what differentiates us from the rest of the world. What makes us different from the rest of the world? Jesus! Salting our words is like sprinkling the good news in our speech. Salt your conversation by telling people about Jesus, sharing your love for Him, and praising God for what He has done. Just like we are supposed to let our light shine in a dark world, we are also supposed to season our speech with God’s grace.

When my mom was growing up, my grandma had signs hanging all over the house. My mom remembers one in particular that was in the kitchen. “Let my words be well seasoned, because I may have to eat them later.” To eat one’s words is never fun. I certainly don’t enjoy it very much. I never realize how many unintelligent things I say until they come right back at me, and they do not taste good going down. But, if we season our words with salt, they would taste a lot better! Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of hearing some unkind thing you said thrown back at you, someone came up to you and said, “You’re the one who told me about Jesus”? We’re all going to have to “eat our words” someday. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). Let’s not let our words be idle. When I have to answer to God for every little word I’ve spoken, I would like to here Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). I want the words of my mouth to be acceptable in His sight (Psalm 19:14). I know I fail often and say things that are not pleasing to Him, but with God’s help, I can please Him. Let’s start seasoning our speech today!