21-Mar-2009 - Seasoned with Salt...
"Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt..." ~Colossians 4:6.
Ginger has a wonderful blog post up right now reminding us of the impact of our words and the responsibility we have to use our words in constructive, edifying, God-honoring ways. I couldn't agree more.
Of course as a mother, my days are FULL of opportunities to practice guarding the gates of my mouth! I find myself letting loose with a little more criticism than I'd like on a too-often basis. Then sometimes, I will think something pleasant or praiseworthy about one of my children or my husband, and don't bother voicing the thought. Why is that???
Words are SO important. Words have the power of healing. They also, unfortunately, have the power to decimate the ones we love in seconds. They can build up and tear down. They have the power to create war and to elicit peace. We have that power right there within our little vocal chords. Amazing, isn't it?
With something so powerful within our grasp, we have a responsibility, friends. Of course we have freedom of speech. We *can* say whatever we like. But that doesn't really mean, as Christians, that we should. After all, we're the bondservants of Christ. We are bound to the law of kindness and grace. Called to season our words with salt (preserving, life-infusing), to administer grace to the hearer, to edify and to honor our Lord who is THE WORD.
So, this week, I'll be measuring my words a little more carefully. I'll be biting my tongue a little more often (I'll carry a tissue in case this becomes bloody!), and I'll be voicing those pleasant and praiseworthy thoughts to my husband and children. Care to join me?
By the way--the pretzels in the picture were a treat made by my boys yesterday morning! YUMMO! It's so nice to have older kids who can whip up yummy stuff!
