My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
James 3:10-12
‘We live in a pleasant area,’ said the men of Jericho to the newly-anointed prophet. ‘But our crops are dying because our water is poisoned.’
So what did Elisha do?
He poured salt into the water, and the water became sweet once again (2 Kings 2).
Salt into polluted water? Yes, because Paul tells us our speech is always to be seasoned with salt, that is grace (Colossians 4:6).
What does this mean? It means that in any given moment, I can bring healing to an otherwise poisonous situation by speaking grace. If I keep talking about how gracious God has been to me, and how gracious He’ll be towards others, the polluted puddles of put-downs and pettiness will become pools of purity and praise.
I want this in my life so badly I can taste it. Oh, I’m far from what I should be — but I see the wisdom of James, for I’ve known people who have refused to listen to gossip and who have instead learned to speak graciously. And there is a beauty about their lives and a refreshment from their lives I so desire. If you want to be the man or woman God uses, join me in praying that we will be those who add the salt of grace to everything we say.
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