Building Up

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:103; Proverbs 12:18; Colossians 4:6

"My turn!" Junior shouted as he laid the next block. He and his brother were playing a tower-building game, and the tower was getting high. Carefully, he laid down the next piece and held his breath as the tower wobbled, wobbled--then, thankfully, stopped. "Okay. Your turn, Max."

Max concentrated hard as he gently placed the next wooden log on top of the tower. The tower teetered and wobbled, but this time it didn't stop. With a loud crash, all the pieces of the tower came tumbling down.

Junior threw up his hands. "No! C'mon, Max! I was trying to get a record. I should have just done this by myself. You're no help at all."

Max opened his mouth to respond, but then got up and went to his room with his head down.

Later that night, Mom knocked on Junior's door. "Do you have any idea why Max seems a little down tonight?" she asked.

Junior shrugged. "I don't know."

Mom raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Junior sighed. "I did get a little mad at him after he made our tower fall down. It was supposed to be a world record!"

Mom nodded. "I understand that you got frustrated, but Max told me you said he's no help at all. That's not a nice thing to say."

Junior looked down. "I guess not. I'm sorry."

Mom looked thoughtful. "You know, what happened to your tower reminds me of our words. The words we say can either build others up or knock them down. Just like you were doing with your tower, we need to be careful that the words we say build others up with love and encouragement, the way Jesus encourages us with His words to us in the Bible."

Junior nodded. "That makes sense. I think I need to tell Max something." He left his room and knocked on Max's door. "Max? Can I come in?"

Max shrugged. "Sure."

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Do you want to build a tower with me again?"

Max smiled. "Really?"

Junior grinned. "Yup." And this time, he would also be building with his words.

– Chukwuka Ugobi