Catching Fire: The Power of Our WordsNäide

If you’ve ever made a meal (or eaten French fries from a fast-food restaurant), you know the importance of salt. There’s nothing worse than an under-seasoned dish or an under-seasoned fry! Knowing how important salt is in a dish helps make sense of what the apostle Paul wrote about salt when it comes to our words. Salt can make or break a dish. It brings out the flavor and tastes you may have otherwise missed. But use too much, and it overpowers the more subtle flavors in the food. In other words, salting your food is an art form. It takes wisdom, nuance, and careful attention. There isn’t a “one size fits all” model.

In the same way, how we conduct ourselves in conversation takes insight, wisdom, and nuance. To season a conversation with grace means that even in difficult conversations, grace is part of how we say something and not just what we say. Think of a conversation you may need to have this week that you aren’t necessarily looking forward to or a conversation that will be challenging. How can you “season the conversation with grace” so it may be received better or heard more effectively?