Understanding Speech As an Offering To God

"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've always taken the verse in Colossians 4:6 to be a simple use of the expression "seasoning" and nothing more. As a way of understanding speech, it is not too difficult to understand that Paul wants our speech to be gracious.

But I think Paul may be on to something more than just that. It is very possible that he could be making an OT reference to the act of offering.

Specifically he may thinking of Leviticus 2:13 when he was writing this. It reads for us:

"You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt." (Leviticus 2:13)

Knowing the apostle Paul's familiarity with the Old Testament, it is quite possible that this is what was going on in his mind instead of using wonderful expressions for the sake of it.

I suppose then a logical conclusion to draw is that we may think of our speech as an offering to God. Every word that comes up from our mouth is offered in a way that is pleasing to God.

Is there warrant however to back up this claim? I think so, elsewhere in Hebrews it is written for us:

"Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name." (Hebrews 13:15)

When we praise God, exalt Him and acknowledge Him, we are offering to God and may it be found to be pleasing to Him.

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