Speak with Grace

Season your speech. When your temper boils up and you feel like your tongue is itching to speak words of anger, it’s time to maneuver it to either halt speaking or speak with grace.

However, speaking with grace isn’t only for times of anger and impatience. It is for every day practice. The Bible commands us to speak with grace and season our speech with salt.

Salt is the timeless seasoning. When the food lacks saltiness, it tastes bland. We don’t find pleasure in chewing or tasting the food.

It is similar with speaking. We must season our speech and make sure it has the salty ingredient that makes our speech a pleasant experience to the hearer.

“Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

– Ephesians 4:29 (WEB)

Let Christ’s grace be evident in your speech. Christians are to be prepared on how to answer anyone. And, when our speech is seasoned with grace, we carry more impact to people. There is more influence in a gracious act than in an unloving one.

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

– Colossians 4:6 (WEB)

This brings to mind about our manner of speech in our every day affairs.

We are called to be carriers of the grace of God and it should be evident in the way we speak as well.

• Are we mindful of the way we speak?
• Can we say that grace is always present in our speech?
• Do we show grace when we speak to our children?
• Do we show grace when we speak to our spouse?
• Do we show grace when we speak to our neighbors?
• Do we show grace when we speak to our colleagues?
• Do we show grace when we speak to people different from us, such as of different race?
• Do we show grace when we speak to people who differ from our held opinion and belief?

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, But deceit in it crushes the spirit.”

– Proverbs 15:4 (WEB)

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”

– Proverbs 16:24 (WEB)

Our speech should bring blessing and not cursing. We show gentleness and uplift spirits of people we come in contact with. Our speech brings sweetness to the soul of another.

We spark life and we inspire change because that’s what Jesus does in us.

Thus, we can never season our speech with salt or speak with grace without Jesus in our life. It is His presence that empowers us to speak with grace at all times. Listen to how Christians who love God with all their heart speak with such grace even in the middle of personal crisis. Feel their gentleness to people even when they carry their own cross. That’s the love of Christ right there. That’s who Christ is.