Salty Language

Do you have “Salty Language?” (a 3-minute story)

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4:6 ESV

Salt has many uses: it seasons, preserves, melts ice, heals, and serves other purposes in our lives.

Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, compares his followers to salt:

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

In Colossians, Paul speaks of our speech being seasoned with salt. This refers to both the seasoning aspect of salt as well as its medicinal and preservative qualities.

The speech of a follower of Jesus should be careful, well-timed, and preserving.

Let’s call it salty language.

How did the term “salty” originate? The Oxford English Dictionary lists that the slang word salty means angry, irritated, or hostile. It’s usually thought of as rough or coarse.

Salty is often closely used to describe life at sea. One alternate definition relates to a sailor toughened by experience.

I’d like to change the connotation of what we refer to as salty language from its close association with cussing, cursing, and coarse speech.

The Biblical meaning of salty language is one of seasoning and preserving. The Apostle Paul encourages us to let our speech be gracious, seasoned with salt.

Salty language is the careful use of our words to encourage, bless, and honor other folks.

By the way, how are your words? I hope they contain a good dose of salty language.