Edifying to the Body

How intentionally do you think about the things that you say?

It’s pretty easy not to cuss all the time (depending on who you are), so you may think, “I don’t say bad things. I’m a good person.” Maybe you are, but what if you took it a step further and looked a little deeper into the things that you say?

What if instead of saying anything that was permissible, you said only things that edified the body? Maybe a weird term, so I’ll clarify. This doesn’t mean only ever say things that are happy and encouraging to others. Here’s a bit more context from scripture: 

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29

Every situation is different, but what if we simply started by being intentional about the words we use? How might we differ in the things that we say? Maybe we wouldn’t say that joke that makes fun of a certain person, maybe we wouldn’t talk about stuff that we knew was going to cause anger in others.

What if we tried to think through the things that we say and try and only say things that are good for building up? And that includes sometimes having hard conversation with people setting them straight, but it’s all still in that same effort to build one another up.

This week, I’m starting small. How can I say one edifying thing to someone every day this week? I don’t know what this looks like, but it’s at least a start in trying to get to the point where my mind is so much more focused on building up instead of myself or tearing down.