Morning Dew

Key Passage: Colossians 4:1-6

Key Text: Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person’”

What we say and how we speak could give us great advantage or could cause us to lose great opportunities. I am sure you have said things in the past that you regret  and would have loved to recall instantly. Then there are those things you said and you just knew they really answered the issue. Some people just seem to have the knack of saying the most inappropriate things at the most inappropriate times. They seem to talk and then think later. Then I have met people, who just seem to speak sense every time. You can’t wait for them to speak, because what they say not just helps, in brings peace and also seems to encourage.

Today I want to encourage you to follow the encouragement of scripture to let your speech be with grace and seasoned with salt. This type of grace is not criticising to crush, but it tries to build up, by highlighting the good in a bad situation. So it’s a question of perspectives.  When you have graceful lips, you speech is winsome, not flattering or deceptive, just laden with mercy and favour. Graceful lips make us see what we have done wrong and at the same time, gives us strength and permission to change and move forward.

Another thing the bible says is to ‘let our speech be seasoned with salt’. Food without salt is tasteless. Simply speaking, you can speak in a tasteless manner. But with salted speech, you speak in a tasteful manner. There is sweetness and loveliness in our speech. Again, salt helps preserve. So also is good speech, it edifies and preserves. Lastly salt is a form of antiseptic. I like this one. Some people’s mouths are worse than septic tanks. They speak vile words and hurt people. But those who have a seasoned with salt speech, bring healing, restoration and edification. They stop the decay.

There are many advantages to having graceful lips. Your speech can open doors for you in difficult situations. The bible is full of examples of people who spoke to authorities and they yielded because they spoke wisely. The bible tells us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. Your lips can bless you and bless those around you if you have grace on your lips. What you say matters. How you say it matters even more.

Whilst growing up, I stumbled on a quotation, and honestly, I cant remember who wrote it, but I simply love it and have tried to adopt it. It says “positive feedback is the breakfast of champions”. My understanding of this statement is not that you don’t tell people what they may have done wrong, but you put it in the context of everything they did right. When the Lord Jesus spoke to the churches in Revelations 2 and 3. He told them mostly what He liked about them, then told them what they have not done well, and ended with an encouragement and a picture of a reward for doing right. Graceful Speech.

Today, remember that you can speak with grace.

Let us pray: Father God, I really want you to help me to have a mouth full of grace. Let me always remember that I can ask you to help me with what I say and how I say it, so the person or people I am speaking to, would perceive the grace on my lips. Let me have my speech seasoned with salt. Let there be sweetness and encouragement in what I say, no matter how difficult it is. I ask for this grace in Jesus name. Amen.