Your memoir: full of grace and seasoned with salt

 

The Bible tells us to let our words be full of grace, seasoned with salt.

 

What does it mean for memoirists to use words that are seasoned with salt?

 

Salt purifies and preserves. In Bible times, because people didn’t have refrigerators, they used salt to keep their food from spoiling. Salt prevents rotting and waste.

 

Salt also heals. Have you ever had a mouth sore? Even a little tiny one can really hurt! If you sprinkle a few grains of salt on it for even a few seconds, you might be surprised at how quickly that sore will heal.

 

Salt also adds flavor and makes food tasty.

 

And it’s part of a healthy diet.  Salt “balances fluids in the blood and is vital for nerve and muscle function.” 

 

Think about writing your memoir while reading the following:

 

“Salt has little influence when sitting in a salt shaker.

 

“However, it is of great value once it is mixed, in the right proportions, in our food. When it is sprinkled on food—or, better yet, cooked into food—it transforms the food. . . .

 

“Salt then is a perfect metaphor for the people of God: We have the responsibility to transform the environment in which we find ourselves, just as salt transforms food.

 

“We are often few in number, but it is no matter. Just as a few grains of salt can make a big difference in food, so also a few faithful Christians can make a big difference in the world.” (from The Sermon Writer’s Biblical Commentary)

 

Jesus said believers are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). That means you have a ministry to those around you.

 

We are called to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

 

“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bone” (Proverbs 16:24).

 

Writing your memoir is a ministry, not a hobby.

 

“You are a seasoning agent. . . .

You can bring the distinctive flavor of God’s values

to all of life.”

(Theology of Life Project)

 

 

God can use your memoir

to do for your readers what salt does:

Your memoir can purify, preserve,

prevent wasted lives, add welcome flavor to life,

and keep your readers well-nourished and healthy.

 

In what specific ways can you write a memoir

full of grace, seasoned with salt?