Colossians 4:5-6

Colossians 4

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

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

We know the world will hate us because of our allegiance to Christ (Mark 13:13), but sometimes I think we add to their disdain for Christianity. We use the verse in Mark as an excuse to not care what people think or to justify hateful actions.

The thing is, the name of Christ should be the only reason we are hated. And it does matter how we look to outsiders according to verse five. As Christians, we should totally consider how what we are doing appears to those that aren’t believers. Do our actions draw them towards Christ or repel them even further? Do we appear hypocritical, judgmental, or exclusive? Or are we simply confounding to them because of the wisdom of Christ is foolishness to this world?

The second part of verse five is important- making the best use of the time. Time is limited. People are here today and gone tomorrow. Every moment matters- we need to share the Gospel and witness through our actions every chance we get. It also makes me think about all the things Christians are known for. We are “activists” against abortion, homosexuality, drugs, etc. Why are we not known as loving, generous, or genuine? Do we spend more time on the things we are against than we do on the gospel? That certainly isn’t the best use of time.

Verse six says let your speech always be gracious and seasoned with salt. The idea here is that what you say should never be tempered with judgment or arrogance. It should never be offensive. The message of Christ offends and divides; we don’t need to add to that. It should be ‘seasoned with salt’ to draw others to it (the salt of God’s grace, love and mercy- not prosperity or false teaching).

Finally, the second part of the verse says that you may know how you ought to answer each person. We should be ready to share our faith and invite others to a relationship with Christ. Unfortunately, a lot of us aren’t prepared for this. The idea of sharing our faith or presenting the gospel to others makes us nervous or we feel ill equipped. But we should be ready and excited for the opportunity.

I challenge you that if you aren’t ‘ready’ or comfortable inviting others to have a relationship with Christ, that you get ready and ask God to bring people into your life that you can share Him with. Take a moment to reflect on your life and actions. Are you adding to the offensive nature of the Gospel? Are you advocating against issues rather than for Christ? How do your Christian walk and the message of the gospel appear to those in your life?