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
We’ve reached the end of apostle Paul’s exhortation to right living, which started way back in Colossians 2:16. And today, we see Paul’s closing instructions to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.”
The Greek word for wisdom can have different meanings and is best defined by the passage’s context. Here we see it paired with “toward outsiders,” which tells us Paul is saying Christians must exercise “devout and proper prudence in interaction with men who are not disciples of Christ; skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth,” (ref: Strongs g4678).
I recently saw a poll showing around 80% of people who reject the gospel do so because of the hypocrisy of Christians. If this is even remotely accurate, it is a very miserable and terrifying statement on how poorly we are behaving around and toward unbelievers.
There is simply no excuse for this, Church. We must do better.
Our lives need to exemplify what we say we believe. This means that when we are dealing with others, they should see what we believe, not just hear it. There is no way we can reach people with the gospel if what they witness is someone who’s heart and life are rooted in the world, full of selfishness, pride, complaining, and lacking love. Such hypocrisy drives people away from the Lord and greatly dishonors His name.
Paul says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.” Relatedly in Matthew 5:13-14, Jesus said, “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.”
We don’t want to be salt that has lost its taste!
Now, Scripture does not tell us to water down or soften the gospel to make it palatable to the unsaved. That’s not what is being communicated here. Paul didn’t do that, so considering the context of the past two chapters, the point here is that our behavior matters – a lot. Paul is reminding the church that our daily life and conversations matter for the witness of the gospel. The way Christians live and speak in ordinary interactions can either draw people toward Christ or push them away.
Let’s quickly review what Paul discussed in the previous chapters regarding proper Christian behavior. He says we should be:
- Rejecting adherence to religious rites to obtain or maintain salvation (think of how this plays out in many denominations)
- Putting off the old self and putting on a new life in Christ
- Rejecting sin and worldly passions
- Being kind, humble, gentle, and loving to others
- Letting God’s Word and Spirit dwell in our hearts
- Working heartily, as though we are serving the Lord
- Respecting God’s design for authority within our marriage and family
- Praying for others with a strong emphasis on being thankful.
Now the hard part: Do others visibly see the love of Christ outflowing in our life? Do they see us living out what we say we believe? Do they see us using our time wisely and in unselfish ways? Do they see us treating others like we want to be treated? Do they see us trusting God, working hard, respecting our wives and husbands, and exhibiting a truly changed heart?
The answers must be yes. If not, we need to repent.
I know this is a difficult message, but when the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside of us, He is constantly working out these things in our heart, so let’s listen and submit to Him. We’re not going to be perfect in this, but as we see, our behavior matters, especially toward unbelievers. Our witness and testimony will only be impactful if we are behaving in a way that demonstrates Christ is dwelling in our hearts. Saying one thing and doing another has no place in the Christian’s life (ref: Matt 6:1, Matt 7:5, Rom 2:3, Titus 1:6, 2 Tim 3:5, 1 John 2:4, etc.).
With this in mind, let’s strive to put Paul’s instructions into practice every single day. Let’s intentionally ensure our speech and actions represent our beliefs, being seasoned with salt, adding flavor and light to the lives of those around us.