To Build or To Destroy? That Is the Question

This semester, I’m in World Religions. And in one of the chapters about Christianity, I read that “there is a central Christian theme that humans are given the opportunity to choose whether they build or destroy” (p. 369, Understanding World Religions by Irving Hexham).

Although this is a pretty simple concept, that quote really stuck with me. God is the ultimate Creator, and he created us in His image, so by extension it makes sense that we also seek to create and build.

Although we create and build physical things, what about the other things we create and build? For instance, relationships that we create (or destroy) with our words and actions. It is a choice we make every day as to whether we build or destroy relationships with the words we use and actions we take.

I feel like the saying “the pen is mightier than the sword” makes a lot of sense when talking about this, because we can see just how powerful words really are in the relationships we have. Words have the power to build up or tear down others. What we say matters.

Now, as we are all sinful and broken, that brokenness also shows up in our words and in our relationships with others. We will say things we regret. We will grow distant with friends over time, friends we thought we’d have for our entire lives. We will sometimes choose to say hurtful things on purpose, to right some wrongs or feel better for a short time.

I encourage you to read Proverbs 18 this week and think about how your words have power.