As believers, we ought to be daily empowering those around us in who God says they are. A lot of this comes right down to how we speak to one another. Most of our words are not empowering towards others, because we have tolerated a lesser identity for them. Maybe through what the person manifests or because of the agitating interactions we have experienced, our view of their potential has lessened.
The goal is to be able to see others not in how they presently are, but who God sees them to be and who they can become in their journey. This really becomes practical in how we talk to one another. The Apostle Paul said it this way:
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
(Colossians 4:6 NKJV)
Paul is teaches us how to leverage the power of our words to add value to people. We do this by recognizing the following:
Our words need to be given with grace.
It is not just what you say, it is the spirit behind what you say. The atmosphere that you carry with your words is important. If you have animosity, hatred or jealousy towards someone, then grace is not going to be on your words. Two people can say the same good thing, but the one who carries grace will release power to the person who hears.
Part of the definition in the Strong’s concordance for this word grace is “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech.” So the question is, “Are the words that I speak and the spirit behind them making way for joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm and loveliness?”
This does not mean you are a sweet talker. It means that when you talk, there is a sincerity coming from you that creates an invitation for the other person to step into grace and all that grace makes way for. Whether or not the person receives this grace is not your issue. Paul is teaching us to deliver our words in a way where the person receives an opportunity to grow and better themselves in God. When grace comes, it empowers us to walk in what God is saying. When there is grace on your words, your voice empowers people to live in God’s potential.
The question is, how are you speaking to and about people? When you talk, does it make way for joy in people’s lives? How do you speak about them when they are not around? Here’s an easy rule on how to do this. When you talk about somebody when they’re not there, pretend that they are there. This keeps you on the path to make room for the goodness of God to come into people’s lives.
The greater that we are seasoned with grace in our speech toward one another, we cultivate an atmosphere of grace by which people can grow safely in God’s process.