Saturday, December 02, 2017

A Pinch of Salt

Salt is a popular topic in the Bible. 86 times in the Old and New Testaments do we find this common household item in various contexts. Jesus talks about His followers being the "salt of the earth" in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13). Paul in Colossians 4:6 instructs the Christians in Colossae to: "let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." 

We see in this verse three directives wrapped with a vivid image. As we seek to imitate our Lord, we should also mimic his speech (Luke 4:22). Paul is inferring here just as he did in Ephesians 4:29 that our speech should "minister grace to the hearers." We can't do that unless we have grace in both our hearts and in our words. Ephesians 4:15 instructs us to "speak the truth in love." 

We MUST be gracious with one another in our speech. We are also told here to be "seasoned with salt." Why would Paul include this image? Well, in that day, salt was used as a preservative as well as a seasoner. We put salt into our speech to ensure that it is pure, preserving, and properly seasoned. Paul echoes this in Ephesians 4:29 "let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth" thus our speech MUST be pure.

Salt was also a part of the sacrificial system. Perhaps Paul was suggesting that our words should be offered as sacrifices to God, words of praise to the Almighty. It would certainly help in those awkward moments if we remembered that our words were looked upon as a sacrifice of praise.

You see when a Christian speaks out rudely or coarsely, it creates a stumbling block to those around them especially unbelievers. This passage is an excellent way for Paul to begin wrapping up his words of encouragement to the Colossians. There is no place in our conversation for a "know-it-all" attitude. Yes, we must live a life of conviction without compromise, but we must also cultivate a gracious spirit of love. If we fail to do that we do more harm than good to our witness. When one's character, conduct, and conversation are in harmony with one another, working together, we are able to truly be able to answer each person graciously, seasoned with salt pointing them to the cross of Christ.

See ya Sunday!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.