So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:25-32, NRSV)
What builds us up?
What is they way we should live so we are building ourselves up and building up those around us?
We need to “put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you…”
We need to treat others as God treats us, accepting them where they are and working with them to help them see the life God calls them to. This does nto mean that we change them, but we live in such a way that God shines through our lives and they are moved and changed by God.
We need to love them, as God loved us, forgiving them, as God forgave us. Not hating them, or holding them in contempt or treating them with malice or falsehoods, but lifting them up as we are lifted up by God.
aSacredRebel 