Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
Usually the phrase “salty” as applied to how a person talks is not really a good thing. The way a sailor might talk, for instance, would be known as “salty.” Paul has something different in mind here. Salt makes everything taste better doesn’t it? I hope I never have to cut back on salt for blood pressure reasons cause man would meat, eggs, pasta, cereal (wait, not cereal), soup all taste so much blander. Salt is the spice of life! Most of the time, I find myself sprinkling a little salt on a dish before I even taste it!
Grace is the salt of a Christian’s speaking. Here the translators used the english adjective “Gracious” but really in the greek it’s a noun “grace.” Paul is telling us that grace is our go to word. It’s what we should be steering every conversation towards, it is what should be on the tip of our tongue, ready like a salt shaker to sprinkle on every conversation we have. We should speak because of God’s grace toward us, about God’s grace toward us, and in a way which is consistent with God’s grace to us. Then we will know how to answer anyone we could ever meet. Because in the end, grace is what everyone needs. It is the grace of Christ Jesus who shed his blood for us which is the salt that preserves and gives flavor to our lives. His forgiveness is the salt which makes everything better. And the doctor will never advise you to cut it out!
In Christ
Pastor Ude