Filters of Speech

UV3369/10000 Filters of Speech
Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one who questions you.
Colossians 4 v 6

We need to use many filters for our speech or we will falter in the impact of our communication and our relationships. The filters we can use are questions we ask ourselves before we speak- is it true? Is it necessary? Is it useful? Is it the right time? To borrow a line from the character King Lear of Shakespeare, “ We need to mend our speech lest it mar our fortunes.” Every day we need to start it with a prayer, “Lord, keep a sentry at the door of my lips.” That guard the Lord places at our mouths is none other than the Holy Spirit. For the unruly tongue can only be ruled by the great power and wisdom of the third member of the Trinity.
It is also written in scripture that the lips of a priest preserves life. What we speak should save lives, enhance lives, deliver people. Our words have power to heal or harm, bless or curse. St James equates blameless speech with perfection of the individual. It is through the lips that the fruit of the Holy Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control – manifest. St James also states that the same mouth that prays or praises the Lord cannot pour forth bitter water along with sweet water. Our lips need to be dedicated to pour forth gracious and pleasant speech, truthful and effective speech that saves lives.

For speech to be gracious, pleasant, truthful and powerful, it needs a deep work of the Holy Spirit. He needs to teach us how to be humble and gentle like Jesus. We need to align our hearts, minds and mouths with the Word. We should also have self control so that we do not return evil for evil or insults for insults. Hence, the book of Proverbs gives us a guideline that the wise learn to ignore or overlook an insult. The uni-verse above states that we need to be gracious and pleasant at all times and not occasionally. We can use the thumb rule of good speech that if our words do not add value to a conversation or discussion, we should choose to keep silent. Knowing when to speak and when to remain silent is itself a difficult art. Our speech being “seasoned with salt” implies our words should emanate from wisdom, maturity, gentleness and the desire to make what we say attractive or persuasive to others. Our speech should be backed by knowledge so that we know how to answer the questions people ask of us. Both the content and the manner of our speaking is important. We need to speak with care not to hurt the feelings of others and with respect for all.