Lighting Up Our City Video 2: Avoiding Insider LanguageSample

A little salt brings out the flavor of a dish. Too much salt overpowers the food, making the meal inedible. You might know this as a simple fact. Sady, I learned it from experience. As I was seasoning a stew, the cap fell off the shaker and way too much salt landed in the pot. The meal was unsalvageable.

Why would the apostle Paul include the addition of salt to describe our conversations about Christ? In biblical times, salt had many uses. Not only did it enhance flavor, but it was also a preservative to keep food from spoiling. Seasoning our conversations with just the right amount of “salt” means choosing words that will be attractive, enhancing interest in the gospel. Our goal is the preservation of another person from eternal punishment for sin.

As we develop relationships with our listeners, we’ll learn about their desires, joys, and sorrows. We’ll give them opportunities to ask questions and share doubts and concerns. Then we can respond in a way that will encourage them to explore the salvation Christ purchased for them. It will also help us “speak their language” as we tailor our vocabulary to their needs.

But when we’re more focused on our agenda than on the other person’s needs, the cap falls off the salt shaker and we overpower our listener with Christianese—an abundance of theological insider language—that they may not be ready, willing, or able to process. The result is a lost opportunity to help them meet their greatest need: their need for a restored relationship with their heavenly Father.

Can you think of a time when your conversation was over-salted with Christianese? What was the result?

By Ava Pennington