“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:6).
I have this aversion to spicy foods. Let me self correct. Spicy foods do NOT like me! The solution: if I avoid the heat, I avoid the hurt. Now mashed potatoes? Different story. Can’t get enough. Though some would consider them a bland side dish, seasoned just right, they fill a meal.
I’m not eliminating hot salsa from the menu, but I guess you’re wondering, “What’s with all this food talk?” It’s more about establishing a balanced relationship than a culinary preference.
Answers aren’t easy to give especially when the world keeps posing more complicated scenarios. I can’t tell you how often I’ve had to bite my tongue to keep myself from responding with a hot-headed retort. But if I want to capture hearts, I have to calm hurts with a bit of mashed potatoes seasoned with salt, not doused in salsa.
If you don’t feel what I’m saying, let me give you the gauge of our current climate around today’s “techno” water cooler: social media. A touchy topic pops up on your feed. Do you (A) lash out with your brand of Wasabi Hellfire and Damnation sauce or (B) respond with wisdom served as a side dish after listening to someone’s heart and then season with the “salt of the earth?”
In the waiting for that “just right” moment, don’t give up.
So how do you serve up this brand of “seasoned spiritual taters?” Consider these three tips:
- Peel first: Much like a potato, we can’t expect to get to the heart of a person without peeling away the surface. These days, gung-ho tactics and generic answers don’t cut it as people tend to open up to those who invest time and effort in them. And peeling’s not a one-and-done event, thus the reason we invest in what we care about. Peeling is tedious, messy, consistent and unique. No two potatoes or situations are created equal. Some small, some large, yet all lead to core outcome if you don’t give up (Galatians 6:9).
- Boil and mash: Speaking of Galatians 6:9, the art of potatoes isn’t as easy as “dice, drop and boil.” It takes time to get the right consistency. Too soon out the pot and tough taters. Too long in the pot and you end up with mush, mot mash. What does this have to do with anything? Some of us get a bit weary from waiting on the “just right” moment. It’s when the right words are spoken at just the right time. It’s when the heat takes its toll on the soul and they’re ready for a change. In the waiting for that “just right” moment, don’t give up. Despite what anyone says, there is no perfect time, but there is a perfect God who gives us strength and perseverance. When it’s time, you’ll know because He completes what He begins (Philippians 1:6).
- Season to taste: This is my favorite part! We get to come alongside someone with a word in that mashed season. They won’t feel threatened when you offer to pray for their upcoming surgery or their crumbling marriage. They won’t get bent out of shape over a touchy topic because they respect where you stand and can agree to disagree. Or maybe, just maybe, they may want to meet this Jesus who feeds and satisfies your soul. They’ve sat at the banqueting table of grace and mercy and now they get to “taste and see” just how good God is.
In a world starving for some spiritual soul food, give them Jesus mashed and seasoned to taste!–
