Encouragement is oxygen for the mind.

At times, life will be difficult and unfair. As a result, your struggles will suffocate you emotionally. In these moments of distress, you need encouragement to breathe again—think of it as oxygen. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, oxygen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas essential to living organisms. MedlinePlus says oxygen is a gas your body needs to work correctly. They report that your cells need oxygen to make energy.

Likewise, we need personal encouragement because it provides an indispensable strength for our emotional and mental well-being. Therefore, Scripture instructs each of us to share the oxygen of encouragement. First Thessalonians 5:11 says, "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."

One of the primary ways we fulfill this command is with our mouths. Ephesians 4:29 says, "Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Knowing this, we must guard against using our tongues in a counterproductive or hurtful way. It will be impossible to be an encouragement if we destroy others with vulgarity, mockery, sarcasm, or gossip. These measures can ruin fellowships, friendships, and even families. Also, bringing up people's past failures will choke the life right out of them. Instead, we need to encourage others with the love of Christ by emulating His actions and words.

See, it was the heartbeat of the New Testament churches to encourage one another (Romans 15:32.) There is enough discouragement and dismay outside the walls of your home, church, or group, meaning that it should not exist within your ranks! So, instead, let us seek to be a blessing with our words, recognizing that encouragement is oxygen for the mind.