40 Days of Words | Day 5
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of Words
Day 5 | OUR CONVERSATIONS | Colossians 4:6
40 Days of Words
Day 5 | OUR CONVERSATIONS | Colossians 4:6
OUR CONVERSATIONS
Colossians 4:6
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
We don’t usually think about it, but salt is an essential component of our food. You go to a restaurant and on the table somewhere is… salt and pepper. If you look at the label of the canned goods you buy at the store, there will be a listing of how much salt is in it.
Salt has been an integral part of human history. It’s vital for life… an essential part of the diet of animals, people, and even plants. Years ago salt was used as a trading medium, just as money is used today. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder stated, “In Rome, the soldier’s pay was originally salt, and the word ‘salary’ derives from it.”
Here in Colossians, the apostle Paul is writing that our conversation, our words, should be FULL of grace, not just a little, but FULL. Perhaps the image of a graceful ballerina comes to mind... someone who, with experienced, practiced moves, is able through dance to illustrate the story written by the author. That’s how I see our conversations should be. As followers of Jesus, we each are dancers who need to practice our words in order to properly illustrate our Author’s story.
And then Paul further explains what he means by paralleling our proper conversation to a meal that was “seasoned with salt,” which we all add from time to time to make the food taste even better.
What an interesting picture Paul paints in just a few words!
Our talk – our conversations – should be graceful… kind, charming, and perhaps even fascinating… and tasty as though they had been “seasoned with salt.” The result is that people should generally LIKE being around us and talking to us. Then, hopefully, when the time is right, we can point them to the SOURCE of our graceful, seasoned talk… our Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer: LORD, help me to always be graceful in my talk to others as though it was a tasty meal with just the right amount of that ingredient you created, salt. Amen.
Colossians 4:6
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
We don’t usually think about it, but salt is an essential component of our food. You go to a restaurant and on the table somewhere is… salt and pepper. If you look at the label of the canned goods you buy at the store, there will be a listing of how much salt is in it.
Salt has been an integral part of human history. It’s vital for life… an essential part of the diet of animals, people, and even plants. Years ago salt was used as a trading medium, just as money is used today. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder stated, “In Rome, the soldier’s pay was originally salt, and the word ‘salary’ derives from it.”
Here in Colossians, the apostle Paul is writing that our conversation, our words, should be FULL of grace, not just a little, but FULL. Perhaps the image of a graceful ballerina comes to mind... someone who, with experienced, practiced moves, is able through dance to illustrate the story written by the author. That’s how I see our conversations should be. As followers of Jesus, we each are dancers who need to practice our words in order to properly illustrate our Author’s story.
And then Paul further explains what he means by paralleling our proper conversation to a meal that was “seasoned with salt,” which we all add from time to time to make the food taste even better.
What an interesting picture Paul paints in just a few words!
Our talk – our conversations – should be graceful… kind, charming, and perhaps even fascinating… and tasty as though they had been “seasoned with salt.” The result is that people should generally LIKE being around us and talking to us. Then, hopefully, when the time is right, we can point them to the SOURCE of our graceful, seasoned talk… our Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer: LORD, help me to always be graceful in my talk to others as though it was a tasty meal with just the right amount of that ingredient you created, salt. Amen.