Ephesians 4:29
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

The sentry scanned the horizon, looking for any signs of the enemy. He kept alert, knowing that he was entirely responsible for warning the people of any danger. As he looked to the west, he caught a glimpse of a hundred horsemen in the distance. The sentry raised his trumpet to his lips and blew as hard as he could.

The battle was long, but victorious. The enemy was no match against the strong, impenetrable walls of the city. Without those walls, the city would have been easily defeated.

As Christians, we have to be constantly on the lookout for the enemy. The devil wants to destroy us and he will do everything he can to accomplish it. We need a strong defense against him.

When other Christians speak words that minister grace, they help build up our walls of defense. We may be feeling weak, but then a brother or sister reminds us, “We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” Their gracious words build us up. Now, when the enemy comes, he finds a huge wall blocking his path. Another Christian tells us, “Keep the faith. God will never forsake you.” The encouraging words build our protective wall even stronger. The enemy will never get through now.

We need to consistently build one another up. I don’t mean that we throw around hollow compliments. I mean that we should be offering words of encouragement. We should be speaking of things that will keep one another focused on God.

When our conversations are full of corrupt communication instead of the things of God, we tear down each other’s protective walls. Our foolish words may weaken the defense systems of our brothers and sisters. We may think we’re causing no harm, but our foolish words have more damaging influence than we think. Every time our words get people’s focus off God, we may cause them to stumble.

May our words build up, not tear down.