Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.—Colossians 4:6

The words that come out of our mouth say a lot about us. Solomon said, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” James said that the tongue is, “A fire, a world of iniquity.” He also said that although the tongue is a small member, it is very hard to control. Let us consider some ways our speech can be a blessing.

1. There is to be the consecration of our speech. We are encouraged to let our speech be always with grace. Our speech needs to be set apart for the glory of God. Instead of reacting in anger or argumentation, our speech needs to define us as being holy and not easily perturbed. Instead of speech that tears down, we must have speech that promotes and builds up.

2. There is the constitution of our speech. Consider with me some various ways our speech can be always with grace, seasoned with salt:

• Our speech should major on being thankful. Thankful speech is speech that is conditioned to find a silver lining in all circumstances. A trait of any good man is that he is thankful in speech.
• Our speech should be thoughtful. Speech seasoned with salt has something positive and encouraging to say. It is speech that turns a bad day into a good day for someone else. It is speech that is helpful to someone that is needy.
• Our speech should make others around us thirsty. Salt makes us thirsty. When our speech uses the right words at the right moment, it has a way of making those we know increase in their desire for Christ.

3. There is the consideration in our speech. We are told to know how to answer every man. Sometimes this might mean we should be quiet and not speak too soon. Sometimes this might mean we need to be discerning and to speak words that seek to resolve conflicts rather than let them continue. Considerate speech has the other person’s best interest in mind.

4. There is the consolation from our speech. Our speech should seek to help heal the wounds others are dealing with. We should speak comforting words that help a fallen or weak person find solace.

5. There is to be consistency within our speech. Our speech is to be always with grace. It needs to be consistently Christ-like, encouraging, and helpful.

What do our words say about us? Do our words build up or tear down? Do our words bless or curse? Do our words inspire others to do something great, or do they push them away?

Let’s seek to have speech that is always with grace, seasoned with salt!