Online Reporter
Trust Maanda
Looking at the Unseen
COLOSSIANS 4:6
Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Speech either blesses or curses. Words have power. One may be sad or happy on hearing words.
Words can make one laugh or cry. Words can encourage or discourage.
That is why the Bible requires us to have our speech seasoned with salt.
Vegetables or meat without salt are tasteless. Salt makes a taste. Our speech must leave a good taste in the hearers.
Colossians 4:6 instructs that speech should be gracious, wise, and kind, rather than rude, harsh or vulgar.
The words must minister grace to the hearers.
Use words that preserve relationships, bring out the best in others, and add value to conversations, acting as a preservative against disharmony, moral decay and unhealthy relationships.
Salt is a preservative.
Salt gets into contact.
Speech seasoned with salt brings people together and for them to stay in contact. Salted speech makes relationships cohesive.
No words that divide people, or demeans others should not be heard from your mouth. No words that discourage others should come out of your mouth.
Vulgar words must never be uttered by a Christian.
Slander must not come out of the mouth of a believer.
Your words must only be for the use of edifying.
To edify is to instruct, uplift someone’s spirits, or improve them intellectually, morally, or spiritually.
This is often used in contexts of encouragement or enlightenment.
That word comes from a Latin term meaning “to build” (like an edifice), metaphorically building up a person’s character, faith, or knowledge.
Ephesians 4:29-31 says: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. [30] And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. [31] Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”
The words must be words that edify, uplift the spirits of others and minister grace to those that hear them.
There must be no bitterness in your words. There must be no wrath or anger, argumentativeness or quarrelling in the words proceeding out of your mouth.
Jesus said we shall give account for every idle word we say.
Matthew 12:36-37: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. [37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
If you train your tongue to speak well, it will be a learned tongue.
Words you speak will be weighed first and will be appropriate for encouraging the weary.
Isaiah 50:4 says so: “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.”
Your mouth produces fruit, if you use it well, and you will eat the fruits thereof.
If you keep your mouth, you keep yourself from trouble.
Proverbs 13:2-3 KJV reads: “A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. [3] He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.”
James 3:3-13 says the tongue is a little part of the body, but it can start a big problem.
It kindles a fire!
It defiles the whole body if not used well.
Humankind has tamed beasts, but the tongue is not easy to tame.
We use it to bless God, even the Father; and with it we curse others. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing.
James says: “My brethren, these things ought not so to be. [11] Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? [12] Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. [13] Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.”
Words have power to heal or make sick.
Faith comes by hearing the Word. If faith comes by hearing, then doubt and fear also come by hearing.
The 10 spies discouraged Israel with their words as they returned from spying the land across Jordan.
The people wept.
Caleb and Joshu encouraged the people by their words.
Let your words be healing balm to someone. Let your words edify.
Always season your words with salt. Salt gives a good tase. Salt is a preservative. Salt seasons! Salt comes into contact.
Trust Maanda is a Gospel preacher and transformational speaker. He writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on +263772432646
