Where I live, BBQ is huge! Santa Maria Tri-tip is fantastic. Two ingredients make it so unique. First, it is cooked over oak wood. Second, is the special garlic seasoning that is rubbed into the meat. The combo of these two makes it seasoned to perfection. My mouth is watering as I type this. We need to make sure our speech is seasoned to perfection as well.
Colossians 4:6
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.”
Perfect Combination
This verse is part of a section called walking in wisdom. Our speech is a big part of our “walk.” Paul seizes upon this by telling us to make sure our speech is gracious and seasoned with salt. Grace gives us the idea of giving the other person the benefit of the doubt. Things don’t always sound the way they are intended so we should be quick to overlook that. We also need to make sure to season our words with salt. Salt is a preserving agent, and the thought is that we don’t need to say everything that is on our mind, thus preserving the other person.
Gracious in Understanding
All of us have said things we regretted. Some people suffer great mental anguish from things they said years ago. Regret is a heavy burden. With that in mind, we need to be understanding and gracious to those who have done the same. People are suffering from things they have said on social media years ago, and the press is crucifying them over it. As Christians, let change the response and be quick to forgive and slow to get angry.
Seasoned to Perfection
We also need to tame our tongue. James tells us that the tongue is the most lethal weapon in the world, comparing it to the rudder that steers an ocean liner or a spark that starts a fire. Those illusions alone show it”s power and our need to exercise control over it. Be slow to speak and even slower to express your opinion. When we can do this, we have to put out fewer fires.