The Walk and the Talk

We have all heard the "Walk the Talk" saying and I want to look at it today in a new light.  Paul wrote these words in Colossians 4:5-6 in regard to how we deal with those outside of the church. Here are his words:  "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."  Here are the principles:

     1.  The Walk

 a.  It is a walk with them - We are to do life with non-believers as well as believers.  It includes both.  Notice that Paul writes "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders".  This carries the idea that we are to go deeper and closer with those outside of the church.  Is this true of our lives?

 b.  It is a walk of wisdom - We should know how they think, what their fears are, know the type of questions to ask them.  We should become experts in what it means to walk with them.

 c.  It is a walk of quality time - We make the most of the time with lost people.  It becomes an issue of quality time over quantity.  We may not always have alot of opportunities to share about Christ, so we make the most of the conversations that we have.   We should know what we are about.

     2.  The Talk

 a.  Talk with Grace - We are to speak with love and kindness to other people. it was the way of Jesus and it is evident in his life as the tax collectors, adulterers, prostitutes, and some Romans found him very unlike anyone they had ever known.  He spoke with grace.

 b.  Talk that is intriguing - "Season with Salt" carries the idea that what we have to say is flavorful and leaves people desiring more.  We have the most interesting story in the world.  What happens sadly is that we lose the influence of the story at times  because of the manner in which we live and speak of Jesus.  We should talk in grace and our lives should be evidence of how great Jesus is.

 c.  Talk that is informative - "Know how to answer each person".  We should know the scriptures in such a way that we are always ready to answer each person that may show an interest in who Jesus is.  We should be informed and we should be ready.

 

That is how we walk and talk with outsiders.