“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Galatians 6:10 NIV

We are stronger together in the Body of Christ. Over and over, we will face persecution in different ways because we are following Christ. If you doubt that the devil comes to seek, kill, and destroy relationships, then you don’t know the devil. You haven’t paid attention to your enemy. He’s afraid of who we are and who we serve. And he’s afraid of what we can do when we’re walking together. 

When we face attacks from the enemy, it’s because we are bringing glory to our Heavenly Father and growing His Kingdom. One of the ways he attacks us is through our own tongues. We are planting seeds in every word, action, and face we make. And we’re being watched while we do it. Christ stood out because He didn’t speak, walk, or act like the people around Him. He was different, and we are called to be different. Being different means we talk differently. We are slow to speak, even when we think we have something to say. 

When we go on mission trips or enter into different places, we’re going to find cultural differences. Some places you go, it’s babies on motor bikes with four other people or garbage thrown everywhere. Some places, it’s subtler things. But if we’re going to walk, talk, and act like Christ, then we need to remind ourselves that we’re entering into their culture. Just like someone can’t come into the USA and start telling locals to stop eating fast food, we can’t go places and tell them how to change their culture. Just like we’d find it disrespectful if someone did that to us, we need to be mindfulthat we’re not disrespecting others’ cultures. We are sent to change culture to reflect Christ, not to reflect us. We do that by sharing the Gospel and by loving them, not by correcting or disregarding their culture. 

Ephesians 4:29 

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

As Christians, we are almost put on a pedestal by some people, and not always in a good way. I know growing up, a lot of eyes were on me because I would call myself a Christian. That comes with a lot of weight, good and bad. We reflect Christ with our tongue. That’s why it’s mentioned so much through the Bible that it can destroy faster than it can build. 

Don’t we want to build the kingdom? We need to be careful with how we speak. We don’t know who’s listening. 

“Benefit those who listen” doesn’t change even with language barriers. We want to build each other up. Let me change that… we NEED to build each other up. The family of Christ needs to be stronger together and lean on each other.

How are you using your tongue? Are you building others up? Are you slow to speak? Are you always ready to share the love of Jesus?