Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6
There is an old saying, "Think three times before you speak." That rule would save us from saying many unkind, bitter, and harmful words.
We season food with salt to make it taste better. We need to learn to season the things we say with the salt of love, kindness, and helpfulness. Homes are much happier when we watch not only what we say but also how we say it.
According to an ancient story a king requested his wise men to interpret his dream. The first said: "Your dream has a sad meaning. All your relations--mother, brother, sister, and wife--will die and leave you alone." The king was displeased and had him lashed. A second wise man said: "Your dream promises you much happiness. You will be blessed with long life and health. You will live longer than any of your kindred." As a reward the king gave him 100 gold pieces. Both men said the same thing, but how they said it made the difference.
How do we speak to others about their soul, their need for the Savior from sin, or about their church attendance? Do we argue heatedly? That is what Paul warns against. Harsh words stir up anger. Instead, we need to cultivate a pleasant way of speaking and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us season our answers and remarks with love, kindness, understanding, and concern.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to speak what is right and true. Help me to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit so my words will heal, comfort, and bless others; for the sake of Jesus, my Savior. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 16 Psalms 42,44 1 Corinthians 10:1-18
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"