Construction and Demolition

            A hammer is one of the most basic and essential tools for any workshop, garage, or toolbox.  Not many homes are without at least one, and any young man over the age of three can easily recognize what it is and how to “pound” stuff with it!  I once found several young boys in my garage using my hammer to “pound” those red rolls of caps that boys love so much and are usually fired in toy guns… they said that using the hammer made a bigger bang!

            A hammer has two sides… one for building and the other for tearing down.  It does both jobs tremendously well!  No wonder it is such an invaluable tool to households all over the world!  Christians have the same two-sided potential.  Paul encourages us, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is good for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29-30)  James tells us that our tongue is equally capable of praise and cursing… and warns that we should choose carefully what we use it for!  Imagine your frustration in building a fine piece of furniture with your brother… one tapping in the finishing nails with gentleness and precision while the other wailing away with the “claw” at any and every part he can reach!  We cannot imagine doing something so foolish to fine furniture, but we often verbally do the same thing to something far more valuable, the people around us.  The damage to a table or chair by a hammer is negligible compared to what we can do to the spirit of another person with ugly words.

            Let us choose, this week, to utilize our tongue as the best “building-up” tool in our spiritual workshop.  Let us encourage, instruct, and love each other with our words in noticeable and wonderful ways…  Let God, through us, build up our community this week!

Larry