Seasoned with salt: Col 4:6

Paul tells us to “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Col. 4:6) The Greek word translated here as “seasoned” can also be translated as “prepared,” as one might “prepare” a meal by properly seasoning it. Paul is saying that we need to use intentionality in our speech. No one haphazardly seasons a dish; rather, they do it intentionally, and with care and precision, lest the dish is ruined. So too, with our speech. Before we speak, we ought to consider what we are about to say, the words we are going to use, and how we hope them to be received by the hearer. Furthermore, in being intentional in our speech, it should always be our intention to speak in a way that our words carry grace. The seasoning of our words with grace does not happen automatically; it is something that we must consider, intend, and practice. Jesus warns us of the danger of unguarded speech and of speaking unprepared when he said, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.” (Mat. 12:36) In light of this truth, let us consider what we are to say before we actually speak; let us consider how our speech might convey grace to our hearer; let us consider how our speech may be used to communicate God’s love to others.