Basement or Balcony - Which One Are You?

We all need some encouragement from time to time, don't we?  Often encouragement comes in unexpected places and in unexpected ways.  It might come from something we read, or a song we hear on the car radio as we're driving along.  Perhaps it comes from Scripture, from a passage we read or perhaps from the Pastor's sermon.  Maybe it's a phone call.  Or it's the beauty of a clear blue sky or the sound of birds singing.  We're encouraged by a number of different things.

Sometimes encouragement comes in conversation.  With family members.  With friends.  Often it isn't even meant to be particularly encouraging, but it just is.  Even the simplest, the most seemingly mundane everyday conversation can have an encouraging effect.  Whether because it was intended that way, or in spite of the fact that it wasn't!

The reverse is also true.  Often our everyday conversations have the exact opposite effect.  They are discouraging rather than encouraging.  This is what I have often referred to as the "balcony or basement" effect.

It has long been my opinion that people can be divided into two basic types:  balcony people and basement people.  Balcony people lift you up.  They are the encouragers.  Basement people drag you down.  They are the discouragers.  And before you hasten to inform me that the two people groups are the saved and the unsaved, allow me to inform you that I've met balcony people and basement people in both of those groups!!  Sometimes the "saints" are among the least encouraging people.  Sad, but true.

Consider this example.  You're having a really good day.  Maybe you got some good news.  About your job or about a family member or perhaps a good report from your doctor.  Then along comes a friend or family member who, with one or two sentences, completely bursts your bubble.  Destroys your good mood.  Drags you down.  That's a basement person.

Words are powerful things, aren't they?  So we should choose them carefully.  Certainly there will be times when we disagree with a choice or a decision or a behavior of a friend or a family member.  There will be times when we need to speak out, to confront a behavior or a choice.  Even then, our words need to be chosen carefully.  We can disagree without being disagreeable.  We can confront situations in such a way that encourages a better behavior rather than in a way that makes matters worse.

Think about how you react to the people around you.  Do you encourage or do you discourage?  Are you a balcony person or a basement person?

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."  (Ephesians 4:29 ESV)