5 Steps to Develop Edifying Speech Patterns

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.
1 Thess. 5:11

​Edification is the native tongue of heaven.  Every angel and soul in that place speaks only that which will reinforce positive spiritual life in others.  Every Christian this side of heaven ought to have a similar accent in his speech.

While our native tongue is earthly--being filled with words that tear down, we ought to be striving to speak the holy language of Christ's country.  How can we develop this kind of speech?  Consider these five pointers...

1.  Fortify your vocabulary w/ good study -  You can only take out of a cash register what has been put in.  It is the same way with our lips.  It is only out of the overflow of our heart that our mouth speaks.  So if we want to reduce harsh, cutting words, we need to bulk up on sound spiritual doctrine.  Remember that grace begets grace.

2.  Keep a sense of our present misery -   Nurses speak with extra tenderness when at the bedside of the sick.  They are sensitive to the pains that person is experiencing and seek to offer nurturing tones.  This is they way we should operate.  We should remember that everyone around us is sick with sin and laden with miseries of every kind.  If you remember that life is a string of miseries, you can be more readied to be light in the darkness.

3.  Speak well with God - We are called to "rejoice in God," "extol His name" and "be thankful in every circumstance."  If we are busy lifting up praise and celebrating God's goodness, its likely we'll reflect that on the streets.  However, if our prayers are full of complaints, sighs, and bellyaching, we shouldn't be surprised if we speak to our fellow man in derogatory ways.

4.  Glory in the smallest blossom of goodness & beauty -  Encouragement is the art of commending that which is good, reinforcing the beautiful, and highlighting the virtuous--no matter how hidden or small it may be. Discouragement is usually easy because there is a lot of woeful things in the world to harp on. When a diamond sparkles in the rough, we should make every effort to embrace it and revel in it.

5.  Keep the trap shut -  Your mother said, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it."  She was wise.  Before a dog can learn to roll over or jump through a hoop, it needs to learn how to sit and stay.  Our speech is not much different.  Before we can do spiritual tricks with our tongues, we likely need to learn the discipline of silence.