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As we were growing up, whenever we had no money to buy tooth paste, we would often use salt to brush our teeth clean. Also, when we had no sugar to ‘drink soaked garri’, we quickly ran for salt. Indeed salt is so common, yet very important in our daily lives. Amongst other things, we use salt to make our meal tasty, to season our fish, meat and other foodstuffs. Salt is also used in treating wounds and other diseases. Thus, salt has the power to kill germs and enhance life in general !
Just like salt, our words, either written or spoken, equally have power. Words can destroy, kill or build up lives. Words have been known to destroy visions, ambitions, projects, characters, egos, personalities, relationships, destinies and what have you? Words can bring joy or sorrow to our lives. Words have been known to bring either smiles or tears to people’s faces. Do we thus care about the effects that our words may have on others? Beware, our idle words have grave consequences (Matt.12:36). Friends, we are called upon to mind our words, for they have power to either destroy, kill or build. It is better to build up lives than to destroy them. The Bible says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth (or pen), but what is good for the necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers(readers)” (Eph. 4:29).
The Bible again says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Col. 4:6). This means that, our words should:
• Be sweet and appealing as salt;
• Be an edification and blessing to others as salt;
• Build others up and bring joy into their lives as salt;
• Attract people to us and not send them away as salt does;
• Help build fruitful relationships amongst peoples as salt does;
• Draw people to, and not away from, God as salt does.
Friends, let us consider the words that we speak or write to or about other persons: do our words fulfil the above prescriptions? We will make life better for ourselves and for others, if we season our words with salt (Col. 4:6).
You may ask: Is this possible? Yes, it is possible. Do this by having salt in yourselves, and by having peace with one another (Mark 9:49c). You are indeed expected to do this because, YOU are the salt of the earth! (Matt.5:13). The whole world is looking up to YOU, to make life here on earth to be sweet, appealing, glamorous, joyful, peaceful, friendly…by the power of your salty words to, and about, other persons. God bless you richly .
By Br. Maurice WELABI NGUEMAKO
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