Seasoned Well

Steak. Make a nice good marinade, let it set for a few minutes and slap that on the grill. Sear and grill to a nice medium and I'm lost in the flavor. There are good marinades and bad ones. But you don't know until you try. I've been to some restaurants where they could really use some help in the kitchen. It was obvious they didn't know what they were doing to ruin such a good cut. I've also been to another steakhouse where the menu would tell me all their different cuts and styles of steaks, but no matter which one I would order they would all taste the same. Talk about epic fail! But then there's that great steakhouse, perfect amount of seasoning, grilled to perfection, can be cut with a fork, and melts in your mouth. Hungry for steak? But not just any steak, the one with the right seasoning?

Our speech is seasoned with something. Notice tonality and body language in delivery. There are many ways we communicate to people. This is what I'm getting at. Let's read this:

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let you speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. --Colossians 4:5-6 (NASB)

Conduct ourselves. What a neat word to describe "a way of life." Our conduct tells people who we are, who we belong to, and develops a reputation of what we're known for.

If we think back to an earlier post, My Prayer This Year, I explained what I believe wisdom is. At its core, wisdom is fearing and knowing God, believing in Him, and His affect on our lives. It's revealed through the Holy Spirit as we seek to know God more through His Word. So in context, since this text is in the same letter, I believe the wisdom Paul is talking about is the same thing: Godly wisdom. Wisdom is displayed in our lives from the depth of our relationship with God. Understanding that every moment is a moment to please Him in every way, our conduct presents God's grace to those who don't know Him.

A life devoted to knowing God more and pleasing Him in every way, stemming from a habitual search for a closer relationship with God, naturally makes the most of every opportunity regardless of the circumstance. With this "seeking God" mentality, our entire lifestyle is affected and is seen in our conduct and heard in our speech. Just like the seasoning in the steak left to marinade so the flavor permeates every bit, so the seasoning of Christ, the flavor of His grace and love toward us, permeates our speech, our thought process, and conduct.

Everything is seasoned with something. We have to decide what kind of seasoning we're going to use before we act, think, and talk.

If we keep that grateful spirit mentioned throughout the letter to the Colossians toward the cross and God's love for us, Christ is allowed to season our lives with more of Him. Keep that attitude! Don't forget the price paid for you! And allow the seasoning of grace that was given you through the cross to flow through your speech, conduct, and how you respond to each person.