Daily Devotion

Colossians 4:2-18

Be Nice

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt… v.6

As one that grew-up in the upper Midwest, niceness was a character trait that I learned as a young age was something that I should strive for. One of the first lessons my four-year old niece learned that respect means be nice. 

Should we strive to be nice to others? Yes. However, sometimes our desire to be nice to others can do harm. Niceness can sometimes be an excuse not to challenge someone’s internalized racism and white privilege. Niceness could cause a someone not to assert themselves against one that would harm them. Niceness has led me not to confront a relative’s anti-muslim and anti-immigrant speech. Niceness protects the status quo, to the detriment of those marginalized and oppressed.

The writer of the epistle calls us to gracious speech, not to be nice. Speech seasoned perhaps with some salty language from time to time. Our speech should always extend the work of God’s grace—  which sometimes means not being nice. 

God of grace, give us courage to speak up even when it means not being nice. Amen.

Prayer concern: Courageous conversations