A friend of Job said something quite remarkable to him, "Your words put people on their feet." Job 4:4

That marvelous word leads us to the Job 4 Test: Do your words knock people off their feet or put people on their feet? Do your words belittle or build up?

To belittle, a word coined by Thomas Jefferson, means to "make little" in the eyes of others, to put down, to scorn.

To build up is to encourage, impart courage and affirm the dignity of others.

We live in a day in which people of good will find themselves drawn onto sides that belittle each other and make no attempt to find common ground, much less to build up one another, yet we know what happens to a house divided.

The word of God is clear about this: use your words to put people on their feet. Don't belittle but be an encourager!