Colossians– Chapter Four VII

by Ed Urzi

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:5-6 ESV).

Salt is such a common element of everyday life that few people ever give it much thought- that is, until it is no longer available for some reason. However, salt possesses a number of properties that make it an excellent subject for use as an illustration here in Colossians 4:6.

For instance, salt is commonly recognized as a seasoning agent. In other words, salt often makes food taste better than it would ordinarily taste alone. The passage quoted above refers to this attribute when it tells us, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (NIV). The idea is that our discourse with others should be tasteful just as table salt makes food more tasteful.

Salt is also valuable for use as a preservative. In the days before refrigeration, salt was regularly used as a preservative to prevent food spoilage. We can apply this characteristic in a spiritual sense if we view Jesus (and those who genuinely represent Him) as a type of preserving agent. Without the preservative influence of Christ, the world would quickly become as spoiled and corrupt as food that had not been salted or refrigerated.

One commentator ties these attributes together with the following thought: “Just as salt not only flavors, but prevents corruption, the Christian’s speech should act not only as a blessing to others, but as a purifying influence within the decaying society of the world.” (1) This should prompt us to consider whether the preserving influence of Christ extends to our thoughts, words, and actions.

Finally, salt is also known for its effectiveness in creating thirst. We can illustrate this idea with an anecdote from the late Gene Klein, a multi-million dollar businessperson and former owner of the San Diego Chargers American football team. When Mr. Klein’s company acquired a chain of movie theatres, he said, “I refurbished our refreshment stands… I tripled the size of a popcorn bucket, and doubled the price and added more salt… to increase soft drink sales…”

While Gene Klein was interested in creating thirst for business purposes, God desires to work through His people to create a spiritual thirst for righteousness and holiness. We’ll expand on this idea with another quality of salt that is considerably less positive next.

Image Credit: Poyraz 72 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(1) MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Col 4:6). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.(2) Gene Klein, First Down And A Billion: The Funny Business of Pro Football