sweet water and words seasoned with salt

If a sudden jar can cause me to speak
        an impatient, unloving word,
    then I know nothing of Calvary love.*

*For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted.

Amy Carmichael, If (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade), 46.

Isn't that a piercing little dart? This is my tentative response to the recent excurses on sanctified speech over at the FreeTruth blog. Those posts are so good--aren't they helpful? When Pastor Tim started, I was like, "Right on!" And by the time he finished, I was like, "Woe is me, for I am undone!"

For me personally, my struggle with my mouth is in the arena of interpersonal communications. I purposed a while ago not to curse or use vulgar speech. That's great. But I can cause a lot more destruction with a bad attitude and some legitimately fine words than with any single "bad" word ever spoken. I memorized Colossians 4:6 a long time ago and am still pondering through the ramifications of what would happen if every single word I spoke was with grace and "seasoned with salt."

How do I go about making my mouth a means of grace? How do I season every word with salt? How does this become a deep, inner change, becoming sweet water that is not afraid of a spill, and not just an outer change, hoping that when jarred my bitter water won't spill too badly or maybe not at all?

1. Take it seriously and believe that I speak "out of the abundance of the heart," whether good or evil.
2. Repent.
3. Pray specifically that God will show me when I am speaking words that are brash, obnoxious, disrespectful, irreverent, argumentative, unthoughtful, arrogant, and rude.
4. Memorize Scripture. Ps. 19:14, Ps. 141, Mt. 12:33-37, Eph. 4:29, Phil. 2:14-15, Col. 4:6, James 3
5. Pray the Scripture that I've memorized. (Ps. 141:3 over and over again!)
6. Ask people to correct me and determine to accept humbly what they say (ouch! cringing just at the thought).

I'm a huge hypocrite in this area (just ask anyone who lives with me!). But Augustine rightly prayed, "And all my hope is nowhere except in Your great mercy. Grant us what You command, and command us what You will." (Confessions 10.29)