"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
I think Christians get so focused on the encouragement and forget what "building up" actually entails. We read that verse and somehow get this idea that building up and encouraging are one in the same. But compliments/encouragement are not the only ingredients to building each other up.
"Building up" someone implies growth, right? Well, how can one grow without improvement? And how can one improve if all they hear is encouragement and compliments of what theyr'e doing right? I think Christians have become so focused on the encouragement that they forget to critique.
A couple years ago I was taking a class to become a swim instructor and one of the main points was how to offer criticism. Well that seems accurate, in order to learn one needs to know what they're doing wrong. Despite popular belief criticism is not just the negative, it's the negative with the positive.
My teacher suggested that criticism be a 1:1 ratio, if possible. If you see something they need to improve, you need to mention something they did successfully. But it is just as important to find something they need to improve when you see something they did successfully. Praise and improve. That's how you learn, that's how you get better.
Why have Christians lost that?
We're all about the "aww great job," "you have such a heart for God," and "God's working through you." But rarely do we ever instruct each other. Yes, encouragement is beneficial as well as vital. But so are loving words of instruction.
We strive to be like Christ...and yet we do not rebuke! Christ instructed people all around Him, and people were CHANGED! But nowadays, instruction and rebuking has been reserved for close friends and parents only. What's up with that? Everyone should be building up everyone. After all, we are one body.
We think we're "building each other up" through encourgament when all we're doing is remaining stagnant. We need to know the areas that need improvement in order to change and grow and be built up.
If you offer words of encouragement, do you also offer words of improvement? Or are you letting your brothers/sisters remain stagnant and without change?
I know I have allowed people to remain stagnant, and that needs to change. I let fear get in the way because our American and Christian culture has taught us to not offend anyone. But critique and instruction can be done in a way that is not meant to offend.
So who will you encourage and instruct today? And will you be ready and willing if someone offers you an area of improvment?
Yay! You have a blog! I'm already a devoted reader, Nell. Thanks for sharing your voice.
I too will be reading this digest of Nellie's blog. Hooray!
Nice post. I think we can miss the two sides of the same coin, that is to exhort others and to challenge them to grow. I've been attracted to the word "encourage" lately. We encourage someone by helping them to feel good about themselves or there work. Rather encourage means to give courage.
This verse shows both sides of that. I'm not real knowledgeable in Greek but as I reflect is seems parakaleĊ (translated "encourage") seem to imply exhorting. On the other hand, oikodomeĊ seems to mean "to make more able" or to "embolden".
It seems that encouragement is exhortations and emboldening the person to live the life of Christ.