Does your speech make you more attractive? Like apples of gold in a silver bowl, your life can be made more beautiful by your words. Grace is the salt which keeps our speech from becoming rotten. When your speech is full of grace, or seasoned with salt as it were, it ensures that every interaction you have with others can be productive, edifying, and helpful to those who hear. When you speak life affirming words, you will have the right response at the right time every time. This is the essence of what it means to redeem the time. By speaking the truth in love you can make the most of every opportunity to speak into the lives of others.
Below are a number of questions to help examine your life through the three Biblical components of truth, grace, and love as they work together to impact what it means for your speech to be like “apples of gold”.
- Do you love the truth? Do you speak the truth? Is what you say honest and truthful? Are you believing any lies? Does the truth make you free or does it make you mad? If someone speaks an honest word to you or speaks the truth in love will you receive it so you can change, grow, and mature? Are you honest with God? Are you willing to bring your life into the light of God’s truth?
- Is your speech seasoned with grace? Do you complain often? Do you gossip? Are you negative? Is your speech helpful? Beneficial? Encouraging? Life giving? Gracious? Attractive? Are your words pointing people to Jesus and helping others grow in Christ?
- Does the love of Christ constrain your words? Is there love or hate in your heart toward others? Are you building walls between you and the people God wants you to reach and encourage, or are you building up people by speaking life affirming words? Are you making the most of the opportunities God provides to speak into other’s lives?
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Scripture used in this teaching: Psalm 141:3-4, 52:2-4; Proverbs 4:23, 15:23, 18:20-21, 24:26, 25:11; Genesis 3:1-4, Romans 1:18-25, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 4:5-6, Ephesians 4:14-16
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