By: Lisa Wilmore
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet you in the only name that matters, and that name is Jesus, our Lord and Savior. It is a privilege as well as an honor to submit to his will and share words and thoughts with you on today. I am so grateful and thankful for the many blessings he has bestowed upon me. Allow me to encourage and remind you that no matter the situation or circumstance, God is still in control. His love for us is so gigantic until we could never measure its capacity with our finite abilities.
Today’s message deals with “building each other up with incorrupt communication”. In Paul’s letter to the Church of Ephesus, he encouraged them to live as a new person. He instructed them to “let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, and it may minister grace unto the hearers”… Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:29;31).
Our world is filled with so much negativity until it has polluted the minds and the ears of our toddlers and younger children. So much so, that as children hear negative comments communicated to loved ones or others, they learn to communicate the identical type of comments which continue on to adulthood. Dear hearts, it is not acceptable to be a part of the body of Christ and continue to display negative or corrupt communication to each other. Why not? Well, God expects us to be loving and kind toward one another. When we use words to tear people down, rather than to build them up, God’s principles and his standard of living for his children are compromised.
Christians should never be placed in the category of others who use corrupt communication to degrade or treat someone with disrespect. We should exemplify Christ-like characteristics toward others and edify (build up) them with our words and actions instead of tearing them down. Consequently, our way of living hinges on Christ’s love and his example of kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. The word of God tells us to exhort one another daily, while it is called today (Hebrews 13:3a). In essence, we are to build each other up with incorrupt communication. Make one another feel valuable, loved and appreciated with encouraging words and a sensitive heart.
