taming the tongue.

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, set on fire by hell." James 3:6

I don't know about you, but whoa. Uh, reality check aisle 5.

How often do I forget about taming my tongue. Probably daily. Too lightly do I take the words that escape my mouth, too often do I speak before thinking. I know I should be considering my words. Thinking before speaking, listening instead of talking so much.

Later James says, "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing." (vs.10) I don't really think of this often... that one minute I may be pouring out love from my mouth and the next spewing nasty, hurtful words. The tongue reveals what is in our heart.

I know I must work on controlling my tongue. My tongue criticizes, I use it to have control and to destroy. It is dangerous..."staining the whole body."

"The true believer is known by his speech. A true believer speaks with a tongue that is under control. Peter says, the true believer will love life, 1 Peter 3:10, see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no deceit. On the one hand, we will. On the other hand, we must.
And so does James warn us about two things. One, that we are revealed by our mouth. Two, that our mouth has tremendous potential for disaster. And so he calls for us to have a tamed tongue. And if we do, it's evidence that we're a Christian. And if we do, it's evidence that we're walking in obedience."- John MacArthur