Grace For Each Other

“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 [ESV]

What’s one of the opposites of gratitude? It’s complaining! We are to build each other up! If someone cut you off in traffic, we out resort to fear and complain and say things, “They must be have been on the phone!” “Where was their focus?”

Why do we assume the worst in people? I have been guilty of this too before. Are we really in conflict with the evil in this as opposed to the evil in people? Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Maybe they were on the phone with a dying family member. And if it was a casual conversation, God is the Judge, not us.

This COVID pandemic has given me a deeper understanding of how people are preoccupied and dealing with their own challenges in life. The ever-increasing evil on this planet is adding to life’s pressures and difficulties. It’s time for grace!

I struggle with a learning disability, and I think differently than some other people. I am smart in some areas, but my processing may be slower in some areas. People have judged me my entire time because they don’t understand. They assume the worst. God is giving me the grace to forgive them.

Complaining hurts you and the person you are complaining about too. It sends negative energy out into the universe! I don’t like small talk because most of it is “complaining talk.” Let’s offer each other grace and mercy!

“So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:6-11. [ESV]

God loves us so much that He wants us to work together as the Body of Christ, no matter our differences. Some people may be the violin in the orchestra, quiet, beautiful, and elegant. Then you may have the drummer, energetic, passionate, and cool. We all have different parts to play. God is our Conductor, giving us instruction as we go along.

“So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:25-27. [NIV]