Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. -1 Thessalonians 5:11

Are you being a cheerleader in your loved ones lives? Encouraging others is something God calls us to do. Recently, my husband and I watched Life Below Zero: Port Protection. One of the women on the show, Timbi, was holding her tongue and mentioned she was trying to be a cheerleader for her husband in order to help keep him on track with his projects. I could see she was frustrated, but at the same time she bit her tongue and proceeded to continue to motivate him. She stood by his side and cheered him on to move forward with their projects, despite his mistakes and setbacks. This made me think about how God has called us to act. As Christians, we are called to uplift others. Proverbs 18:21 says, The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Being a perfectionist and being very particular about how I like things done, I’ll be the first to admit, it’s easy to pick. What’s harder is choosing the higher road by setting expectations aside and building others up. This can be extremely challenging. When we want something done a certain way or expect something to get completed to our satisfaction and it’s not, how much more difficult it is to hold our tongue and speak words of encouragement. I’m not saying we can’t ever express our dissatisfaction or our feelings, but we need to do it in a way that is not tearing others down. This is something I am definitely working on.

So, the next time we are tempted to get upset about something someone did that wasn’t up to par with what was hoped, let’s remember to bite it and build them up. Whether it’s a friend or a coworker, a family member or neighbor-we can look for the good and choose our words carefully-words that speak life, and not death.

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