“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. … Live in peace with each other.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 13b
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Terry Francona joined an elite club last year as one of 13 MLB managers with at least 2,000 victories. He played for 10 years in the major leagues, and later became a manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians/Guardians and Cincinnati Reds. He led the Red Sox to World Series championships in 2004 and 2007.
Along the way, he’s given many pep talks, scolded players, and argued with umpires on behalf of his team, all while trying to do everything in a professional manner. Surely, it hasn’t been easy. He probably searched hard for encouraging words when the Red Sox were down three games to none against the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series. But somehow they won four straight games to advance to the World Series and eventually win it all.
The Bible talks often about building others up. When the apostle Paul spoke about keeping peace in churches, he emphasized the importance of communicating in a kind and caring manner. We need to learn to solve problems without insulting others and give people the benefit of the doubt because we don’t know everything about a person’s circumstances (Ephesians 4:29-32).
Though we’re tempted to tell people everything on our minds, we’d often be better off staying silent and asking God to give us wisdom before we say anything. God calls us to speak uplifting words to others even when they don’t show us the same respect, and to forgive even when we don’t feel like doing so.
As the Holy Spirit guided James to write about speaking properly, he used the example of fire to show the importance of handling our tongues in the best way (James 3:5-6). If we speak without consideration, we could cause unnecessary problems. Even though fire is used well for heat and cooking, a wildfire destroys everything in its path. We need self-control and God’s direction when we speak. Since God made our mouths, we should use our tongues to praise Him and build others up.
It’s hard to tame the tongue, so we need God’s reminders and assistance constantly in order to speak like our Savior. However, John reminds us that God expects us to follow His example: “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). We need the Holy Spirit’s power to talk the way God wants us to speak.
When you think about it, we may bring people closer to the body of Christ (the Church) when we speak with love and concern, rather than in a harsh, uncaring manner. On a regular basis, people hear complaints and hateful words, but Christ reached out in love to the worst sinners, and calls us to show people what God is like by the way we use our speech. Occasionally, we may need to say something in truth that is unpleasant, but we need to find a way to let the hearer know we say it out of love.
Even though we can’t exactly match the way Jesus talked, we should try to express ourselves in ways that lead people to the foot of the cross. The devil constantly works to destroy peace in congregations, but we overcome that trap through prayer and choosing our words carefully.
Find ways to build people up rather than tear them down (Romans 14:19).
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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