Colossians 4:6 continues Paul’s instructions regarding “outsiders.” Our speech must be gracious. Notice the word “always.”  I regret to confess that my tongue has always been my greatest weakness. It gets me in trouble more than anything else. What I say, how I say it, when I say it all contribute to “graceless” speech. We need to be consistent in gracious speech at all times. In verse 5, Paul seems to be addressing first impressions. In verse 6 he’s stressing a continued, consistent testimony.

The longer you know someone, the more you find about them to dislike. We all have worts, scars, pimples, etc, that we like to hide from those on whom we make first impressions. But sooner or later they become apparent. You know the old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt…” There is some truth to that. The truly uniqueness of Christ was that the closer you got to Him, the more you saw of him, the better he looked.  Not by the way he dressed because his dress was totally unremarkable. That’s a good lesson for us regarding our grooming standards and dress codes.

But Jesus was talking about His character and His “walk” in life.  He calls the people, the religious leaders, and the Roman government to “examine” him for faults. Pilate answers for them all. “I find no flaw in Him.” None of us will ever make it to that standard, but we must ever be attempting to become more and more like Christ. The tongue is my greatest challenge. One of my favorite memory verses is from Proverbs 22:11. It reads, “He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.” Jesus is my King and I sure want to be friends with Him.

Chuck

“Let your speech always be gracious…” Colossians 4:6