Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
-Colossians 4:6 (ESV)
Haley regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. Considering what you hear on TV these days, let alone out of the mouths of schoolchildren, it wasn’t that bad, but still…
Haley didn’t even want to blame her friends for this kind of talk, even though they had gradually relaxed their standards over the years as well. It was all a part of being culturally relevant in their Christianity. But she still felt wrong about it.
It’s all about grace, Haley thought, and not legalism… right? So why did she still feel a little guilty?
The truth is, the Bible warns us, again and again, to watch about what comes out of our mouths:
“…whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”
Proverbs 10:19 (ESV)
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths…”
Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)
“For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil…”
1 Peter 3:10 (ESV)
The list goes on and on. Books like Proverbs and James spend a tremendous amount of time expounding upon it. This leaves any believer and student of the Bible to conclude one thing: that our speech and the use of our tongues are of utmost importance to God!
It’s not an issue of legalism, because we are all forgiven for our slips. It is about holiness, how we lift one another up, and the way we represent our faith to the world.
Perhaps the keyword in today’s scripture is “salt.” Jesus Himself calls believers the “salt of the Earth” in Matthew 5:13. In the same teaching, He also calls us “the light of the world”—in the very next verse!
We are salt and light so that others can see our good works and give glory to God in heaven (Matthew 5:16). In other words, something in us must be different so that when others see us, they see something different and are pointed to God.
In Mark 9:50, Jesus could not be clearer about salt as a spiritual concept:
“Salt is good… Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Mark 9:50 (ESV)
Haley was right to feel that twinge of guilt, and chances are many of us feel it as well. Consider it a nudge from the Holy Spirit to salt things up a little!
If you struggle with speech that does not glorify God, here are a few ideas that may help:
Take a few moments to read and even save Bible verses pertaining to Christian speech and the use of the tongue. A quick internet search will give you quite a reading list!
Partner with a Christian friend and agree to hold one another accountable. It shouldn’t be a game of gotcha! or punitive point keeping – maybe just a nudge or a non-verbal signal of some sort.
Think of ways that you can reword problematic phrases that you struggle with or are in the habit of using. What is another way you can communicate your meaning that doesn’t depend on disagreeable language?
Finally, pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to give you a clean heart (Psalm 51:10) and to put new words in your mouth. Perhaps David had prayed such a prayer when he wrote in Psalm 40:3, “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.”