Building up the Brethren

With the importance of holding fast to the Word of God settled in our minds and hearts, let’s turn to one of the primary ways we use the Word in our day to day lives, especially as men. To be a man and lead is to speak into the lives of those around you, beginning with your wife and expanding outward, with God’s truth that is found in his Word. This kind of man knows that his own wisdom is folly at best and sinful at worst and seeks to use the words of God to encourage and teach those around him.

Ask yourself a simple question: Am I an encourager? Am I the kind of man who builds up, or one who tears down? There is already an “accuser of our brothers” (Revelation 12:10), and his name is Satan; you don’t need to add to his devilish work in the world by pushing people down with your words. Instead, you must strive to be an encourager, one who speaks life to people everywhere he goes. This is difficult for many men because of how much male culture is built around jesting and hazing. While there is real camaraderie that comes with brothers who can pick on each other, we must remain vigilant that speaking in that way doesn’t become our default setting. This can become destructive to a marriage, family, or career. What we should be doing is listening for the Holy Spirit to prompt us with a word from Scripture when we are in any given situation, leading us to apply the words of God like balm to hurting and broken people. As the book of James says, the tongue is a fire that can be used to burn down the world around you. The kind of man God honors and uses to do great things is one who has his heart and mind filled with Scripture and is on the lookout for people to bless and encourage with it.

Encouragement and nourishing often feel like feminine qualities, but they are paramount for men. Too many of us settle for poking fun and giving cold shoulders when we should be building people up and pouring life into them. When we consider the life of Jesus, again, the preeminent man, he always had words of encouragement ready on his tongue, and those words were always straight from the very Word itself. He wasn’t feminine for this; he was the fullness of masculinity, God the Father on full display at all times and with every word. What would your world look like if you began leading with encouragement and upbuilding? What’s the worst that could happen? People start to see themselves the way God sees them?