Salt Not Salty

 

Colossians Chapter 4:6.

 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Speech with grace, seasoned with salt...………… Admitting out loud the numerous times I have tripped and tumbled over my words in my younger years can be compared to eating a tablespoon of vinegar. Many times, my words have been less than desirable. Rank-smelling, mouth puckering, and eye-watering pain would be a better description. They held no salt, only the salty tones of my utterance. My salty tones were not spoken to encourage, lift up, or be a positive influence. They were the back tones of my own emotional injuries that I had selflessly chosen to share like an arrow hitting a target. 

Jesus tells us in Matthew Chapter 5:13. You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

 I did not want the salt the Lord had so lovingly and thoughtfully given me to be thrown out and trampled upon. I had some internal growing to do. It was time for my speech to be seasoned with grace. 

His grace!

In order to be the salt of the earth in the context of Jesus, means to share the living hope of Christ. As daughters of the King, we are called to speak His truth and safeguard society from moral decay. And that is where grace comes in!  

Proverbs chapter 16:24. Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Extending grace to others can be described symbolically as pouring honey over their wounds, mistakes, and even their salty tones. It is an act of healing. Colossians chapter 4:6 means we are to speak with grace and wisdom. Our salt adds flavor to preserve the truth of God's word in love. 

My journey to a Christ-like salt life still has bumps in the road. I'd be dishonest if I said I never had moments when my flesh did not rise like a warrior charging a battlefield. But the good news is that I've learned to recognize when my salt is edifying and when it is not, and my corrective words are already forming in my soul and ready to speak. 

We are called to be the salt of the earth. To be a living example of Christ in us and working through us. And in doing so, I hope you, too, allow your speech to be spoken with grace and seasoned with salt.  

His salt!