“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt…”
— Colossians 4:6

The internet is a coliseum.
Twitter is the new Colosseum floor and outrage is the crowd roaring for blood.

Cancel or be canceled.
Dunk or be dunked on.
Burn the heretic or join the bonfire.

And too many Christians are grabbing torches instead of crosses.

You can win the argument and lose the person Jesus died for.

The World’s Playbook vs. Christ’s

Culture says:

• Destroy the person to defeat the idea.
• Ratio them into submission.
• If they’re wrong, they deserve whatever venom you can spit.

The Word says:

• Speak the truth—in love (Eph 4:15).
• A gentle answer turns away wrath (Prov 15:1).
• Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (James 1:19).
• Overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21).

One playbook glorifies you.
The other glorifies Him.

Truth without grace is a bludgeon. Grace without truth is a betrayal. Jesus was full of both—and never dropped either.

The Biblical Tightrope (and how not to fall off)

1. Listen first, speak second.
   Most critics never read what they attack. Don’t join that chorus.

2. Attack ideas, never the image-bearer.
   You can call an idea demonic without calling the person holding it a demon.

3. No straw men, no caricatures.
   Misrepresenting someone to make them easier to hate is bearing false witness with extra steps.

4. Season with salt, not gasoline.
   Salt preserves and flavors. Gasoline just burns the house down with everyone inside.

5. Be quicker to repent than to dunk.
   Publicly admit when you’re wrong. It’s the most counter-cultural move on the timeline.

The world crowns the loudest scorcher. Jesus crowns the servant who washes feet—even the feet that just kicked him.

Why Tone Is Not a Side Issue

• Harshness hardens hearts and inoculates people against the gospel.
• Cowardly silence lets lies parade as compassion.
• Grace + truth together is the only combination that actually sounds like Jesus.

1 Peter 3:15 doesn’t say “give an answer with superiority and contempt.”
It says with gentleness and respect.

You will never regret being kind. You will almost always regret being cruel.

Everyday Redemption

• At Thanksgiving dinner with your progressive cousin
• In the church foyer with the brother who votes differently
• In the comments when someone just lied about your faith
• On your own timeline when the mob wants blood
• In the group chat when politics flare up

Speak as if Jesus is listening—and remember the person across from you is someone He died for.

Closing Charge

The world is loud, cruel, and proud of it.
Let them have their coliseum.

We have a cross.

Let’s talk like the One who hung on it.

— Mark Weimer

Before you hit send, ask: ‘Would I say this if Jesus were here?’ He is.