Thursday December 18, 2104

Read Colossians 4:6

Words are powerful. Even as children we learn the power of words. The old ‘sticks and stones…’ nursery rhyme is blatantly untrue. Children can be incredibly cruel to each other in the words they use. Just think of the number of teenagers who have killed themselves or attempted to kill themselves because of the words they receive on social media?

The words of a Christian are to be filled with grace. That doesn’t mean we only talk of Jesus’ death and resurrection all the time. It means we have a tone of grace or a note of grace in all the words we use, even when we aren’t feeling particularly positive. It means we speak positively about others. Having a note of grace means that we look on the bright side of life and we give others the benefit of the doubt. It means we refuse to degrade others or to slander them. It means we refuse to curse or to swear. It means we look for opportunities to praise God rather than to seek revenge.

It’s particularly important to have a note of grace when it comes to our home church. There is much wisdom in biting one’s tongue when one is tempted to speak poorly or negatively about one’s church, church leadership or brothers/sisters in Christ. Wisdom tells us it’s better to keep our mouth shut than to spout out things we will almost inevitably regret later. If we are going to say anything, let’s make sure it’s edifying and positive not slanderous or cutting.

Having our speech seasoned with salt means that our conversation is appetising and nutritious. It’s appetising in that people want to hear more, but not because we are good at gossiping!! If we are speaking with non-Christians the salt draws them in and whets their appetite to the things of Christ. If we are speaking to believers its’ appetising because it blesses or edifies them. It’s also nutritious or beneficial because it builds up those we are speaking to or about.

Verse 6 gives us the way or the guide to answer everyone. The worst thing we can do as believers is to talk down or negatively about our brothers and sisters, our church or our leaders. What others hear is a putting down of Christ Himself. No one will be drawn to Christ in adoration and worship if we diss or bag out other believers. Even worse, we should never let our temper flare up to say things that we will inevitably regret later on. Our words should be measured and carefully considered before they leave our mouth.

The reality is that we can say something negatively or positively. Negatively, we could say, Jimney is a real twerp. He’s hurt me again and I am really struggling to like him. Positively, we could say. ‘Jimney hurt me again and I’m struggling with my feelings but I’m working at forgiving him.’

How do you think a believer would respond to either statement? How do you think a non-believer would respond to either statement? One is gracious and seasoned with salt. The other is rude and off putting.

Prayer:

Based on today’s reading spend time in...

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

à Pray that your church would faithfully and powerfully preach the gospel this Christmas.

Worship Moment:

If the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart then every word we speak is a matter of genuine worship.