I'm So Punny!

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each other.” — Colossians 4:6

I promise there will be no puns in this devotion. I know you don’t trust me. You think I’m like stairs, always up to something. Okay, no more. There will be zero puns from this point forward, and in the end you will thank me for nothing. (Insert groan here.)

Recently, Wendy and I flew to Tampa Bay to spend the weekend with some longtime friends. We worked together in ministry about 30 years ago. At that time, we were all young and full of excitement. We started a weekly Bible study. We quickly became fast friends and spent most nights hanging out at our house (since we had kids that had to go to bed). Over the years, we drifted apart. Each following their own path to different parts of the country. It had been 17 years since we had all been together. So, we got together and spent 4 days in the same house to reconnect and catch up.

It was a wonderful time! We shared each others’ joys, tears, faith and lives for a few days. But, I’m me. I don’t have an off switch. What you see is what you get; all the time. It never stops.

Sitting around the table, I threw out my millionth pun on the third day. Chad sat next to me and cocked his head to side-eye me with a quizzical look. I could read his mind. I looked at him, smiled and said, “You forgot how exhausting it is to be around me didn’t you?” He just started laughing because that was, if not exactly, pretty close to what he was thinking.

I can throw out puns like… okay, I won’t finish that one. I think I’m punny. But others often find it exhausting. I can use sarcasm like a surgeon uses a scalpel. I can argue with a fence post until it rots away at the ground. I can be relentless.

That’s who I am. Right?

James warns us that we should be careful in how we use our words. He writes in James 3:8,10, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. …Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

As a speaker, I spend more time than most thinking about how to say things. I “test” phrases on my friends to see how they land. I work to make sure I use the right words in the right way to make an impact. Yet, I also struggle more than most in casual conversations. I don’t take time to think about what I’m saying. I default to my fleshly tendencies. I try to be funny or emphatic using puns, sarcasm and arguments to carry the conversation. Not only is it exhausting, it often belittles those around me. This is much to my shame.

I am constantly challenged to bridle my tongue. To be more careful with what I say. It is an area in my life where I need to grow in God’s grace. As our verse today states, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each other.”

I tend to be salty! Too salty. And too much salt makes for a bitter drink. Today, I pray that God would work through my life to teach me to speak with grace. I don’t know where you are? Maybe you are too salty like me. Or maybe you need to add a little salt of truth and honesty to your speech. What I do know is that there is not a person alive whose speech is perfect. We can all grow in God’s grace in this regard.

There is a good reason to grow: its about the people we love. The challenge for me today is to grow in my conversation. That God would speak through me to lift others up rather than tear them down. To support to others rather than standout. To encourage, uplift and grow deeper in my relationships. It’s not a guilt trip. It’s a challenge to grow in grace!

The challenge is: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV)

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