Colossians 4:5-6 English Standard Version

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

I would change the word outsiders to everyone. We are answerable to each other in fellowship and a wise and considered answer should be available for anyone we hold fellowship with in Christ.

I have to consider that those who are on the outside are asking questions for one of two reasons, earnest desire or to argue.

What about questions within our fellowship?

We understand what we mean when we speak, but others are not mind readers and if our communication styles are different, the message may be unclear. Wisdom in fellowship is just as important as with outsiders, perhaps even more important since we love one another.

Tossing out a question about a point of interest during a pastor’s sermon should be avoided at all cost. It is rude, breaks continuity of thought and undermines his authority. We are often asked to take copious notes and that is where questions should be noted for clarification at the proper time. And my answer is yes, I have seen it done during a sermon and it made me think unkindly of that person.

Study groups are an excellent place to hone our communication skills. The words we use might not always be clear to everyone. We often come from different backgrounds and perhaps have grown up in another administration of service to find ourselves leaving there for various reasons.

We might carry some understanding with us that others find troubling. The way different churches perform baptisms is often brought up but is not worthy of an argument. Wisdom allows for latitude in areas where exercise in function has nothing to do with eternal salvation.

This brings us to our last vital point.

What truths do we hold inviolate?

What do we insist upon 100% agreement?

It would not surprise me if we all have different lists. Complete lists will always contain controversies. If we order them by priority we might find that even if the order is not the same the contents match, up to a point.