“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:5-6).
Paul’s instructions to the Colossians should be heeded by all of Christ’s disciples. Whether it be those outside the body of Christ as indicated here, or our own brethren, unmindful speech is a common cause of strife and rancor.
This is exactly the opposite of our Lord’s intentions. His purpose in coming, “…the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). If our words tend to divide, repulse, or confuse we are at odds with the Lord’s purpose. So, our conversation should be careful and considered. We should never compromise the truth, but we should always proclaim it with a view to saving souls rather than glorying in their condemnation.
Paul here gives us a pattern for ensuring our communication with others brings good rather than evil. Consider the following points:
A part of a wise walk is to redeem the time. This is true regarding the words we share with others. The concept of intentionality is found here. We should not be mindless in our communication. In fact, scripture condemns idle chatter. The writer of Proverbs noted, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19). Paul warned Timothy, “But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness” (2 Timothy 2:16). Even the Lord weighed in with the warning, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
This care in speech is especially noted in our conversation “toward those who are outside.” As my son Jeremiah recently preached, “if you are on the inside, act/sound like it.” How true! Our purpose as Jesus disciple’s is to shine the light of God’s glory upon the lost. We do this by our “good works” (cf. Matthew 5:16), and by our words. Whether it be kind words, clean words, polite words, or a direct sharing of God’s word, people ought to know we are in Christ’s inner circle — that His grace has wrought a great change in us. Then God is glorified.
This is what Paul had in mind when he admonished us to ensure our speech is always with grace. The word gracious (charis) is defined: “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech” (Thayer). It has to be acknowledged that this is sometimes very difficult. Whether it be anger, sadness, stress or provocation, our words can get the best of us. “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:8-10).
What did he mean when he added, “seasoned with salt”? Well, that is easy to understand now that my heart doctor has put me on a “low salt” diet! When we eat, salt makes the food more palatable. It is perhaps the most useful of all spices, as it is used in baking, seasoning and even preserving. That’s what we want our graceful speech to do. We want it to make things more palatable, to move things along, even to preserve and save rather than break down and destroy.
We are instruments of God. If we train ourselves well in speech, such wisdom and practice will ensure us being able to say the right thing. We will “know how [we] ought to answer each one.” We have all struggled with saying the right thing when we come across a friend or brother who is suffering from some loss or trouble. We don’t want to make things harder, and our timidity keeps us from otherwise helping them through their distress. Even worse, we have all heard someone plow in, speaking clumsily, and making a bad situation worse! How wonderful it would be to be able to offer words, and to be confident what we say will not be harmful, but helpful.
Consider these uses of our speech, again from the sermon preached by Jeremiah. First we can praise God. He may not need it, (cf. Act 17:25), though He certainly deserves it, and it in an obligation we have as Christians. Second, we can encourage our brethren. This may be through our simple day to day interactions, or it may be in gently restoring a brother with kindness and humility. Third, we can defend the truth. There is much religious error today. Our purpose is to defeat it with the clarion truth of God. We do this not to condemn, but rather to save the deceived from a path to destruction. Which brings us to our fourth and final point. We can preach the word! A sharing of the gospel of Christ is a best example of graceful speech, seasoned with salt. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
