It is a far easier thing to destroy than to create, to tear
down than to build up, doubly so if you had no hand in the creation of building
of whatever it is you are attempting to tear asunder.
Building something up, whatever that something might be
whatever for it may come in, requires time, effort, planning, execution, and
determination. Whether it’s a home, a building, a business, or a sculpture,
consistent dedication is required, and follow-through is paramount if one hopes
to finish what they’ve started.
Destruction requires neither planning, execution or
determination. Tearing down what someone else has toiled to build is
frighteningly easy nowadays. All it requires is a bit of time and effort. Some brute
force, some well-placed blows, a gallon of gasoline and the striking of a
match, and what someone spent weeks, months, or even years building up is so
much ash in less time than it takes to cook a roast in the oven.
I was watching my daughters play yesterday. The older one was
playing with a set of building blocks I bought her last year, building a castle
of some sort, meticulous and detail-oriented. The younger one was doodling on
some coloring paper, but then she got bored, walked over to her sister, and
said, “play with me.”
A few weeks ago, she started expanding her vocabulary, and
now it’s like a brushfire in high winds. It is ever-growing, with new words
every day, and it’s an awe and wonder to see how quickly they develop, grow,
learn, and mature.
The first time she asked her sister to play with her, her
sister ignored her. She waited for a breath, then repeated, “play with me,
sissy.”
This time her sister acknowledged her, looked up from her
building blocks, and said, “give me a minute, I want to finish this.”
Apparently her answer was unsatisfactory because the
youngest, quick as a cat, swiped at the building blocks sending them scattering
all over the floor. What had taken my eldest daughter a good hour to build, was
laid to ruin in less than five seconds.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Victoria said to her little sister,
but her sister either didn’t understand or didn’t care about what she’d done.
Our hands can be used for either building up or tearing down.
It is a choice we make as to which of these two diametrically opposed avenues
we will pursue, and depending on what we choose, we will either leave something
beautiful or a trail of destruction in our wake.
Some have dedicated themselves to tearing others down, not
out of a sense of nobility, or because they have a righteous cause, or because
of anything as magnanimous as doing the right thing, but because they’re not
getting the attention they think they deserve.
They strike out blindly because they feel ignored, or hurt,
or sidelined, not bothering to consider that what they’re attempting to destroy
in their anger and frustration is something that someone else built with love,
patience, and tenderness.
The work of your hand will speak on your behalf louder than
anything. What you leave in your wake will either confirm the truth of what you
claim to be or expose you as a liar.
Maybe some of us need to learn that there is a difference
between tearing down strongholds and tearing down other people. Then, maybe,
just maybe, we will have enough awareness to identify the true enemy and go on
the offensive.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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