I remember hearing the word Edification for the first time. I learned that Edification is about lifting people up and quickly learned that Edification is a powerful thing! It’s about looking for the good in people and telling them about the good you see in them. Extremely important is to be genuine and sincere about it. Edification tells people that you respect them, and you genuinely care about them. It’s not just in our words that we edify but in our actions too. Wait a few seconds longer to hold the door for someone, or (MEN), opening the car door for your wife, and/or catching the door for someone, or carrying bags, boxes etc. for someone. It’s that extra effort that says, “You matter to me.”
Edification empowers people! Think for a moment, when was the last time someone gave you a sincere compliment about something? How did that make you feel? You probably felt like you could take on the world and make great things happen! Now think about how much of a difference you can make in other people’s lives by edifying them.
I got a lesson once when my wife and I had a discussion in a higher decibel range on the way to a meeting. It was so lively that I wasn’t sure we would be riding home together afterwards. After the meeting I overheard her talking with someone and convincingly telling them how I was a person of character who would be there to help them. What she had said to them wasn’t what got my attention as much as her sincerity in how she said it.
The most prominent people on the road to success have learned how to value and work with all types of individuals. Make it a habit to learn from, appreciate, and value the efforts and gifts of everyone around you. “You have to”, as they say, “love people where they are at and see them for where they can be”. That’s edification. It’s building people up and seeing the good in them even and especially when they make a mistake or are down. Help them build on their strengths and they will only get better.
We must learn to edify everyone. I learn a lot from my wife because she goes out of her way to edify people. She can’t help herself. She will let you know if you have a great smile, if she likes your sweater, if you have a cute baby, or you certainly handled that difficult customer very well… I have watched her edify a sales clerk who was obviously not having a good day and when she walked away I would look back and see that person smiling and now standing with their shoulders back and better equipped to take on the world.
Make edification a part of your character if it isn’t already and empower your life and others. You matter!