A single brick doesn’t look like much. But place enough of them together, and you can build a shelter or a wall.
Our words work the same way.
Every conversation leaves something behind. A thoughtful sentence can build courage in someone who’s ready to quit. A careless remark can deepen an insecurity they’ve carried for years. Even silence can create distance when love needs to be spoken.
Scripture tells us to use words that build others up and give grace to those who hear. That doesn’t mean avoiding difficult truths. It means speaking truth with love, at the right time, for the good of the person receiving it.
Jesus did this with Peter. After Peter’s painful failure, Jesus didn’t pretend it never happened. But He also refused to let failure have the final word. He restored Peter and called him forward.
God speaks to us the same way. He corrects without crushing. He exposes what must change while reminding us that we are still loved. When His grace fills our hearts, our words can carry that same healing into the lives around us.
What are your words building in the people closest to you?
Read: Ephesians 4:25-32
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Based on the sermon, “Words of Affirmation” by Pastor James Marano
