James 3: 1-12

James 3
Taming the Tongue
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

The TONGUE!!!! One of the things that I hate most for my students is when I hear them praise God and talk about how much they love Him and then they curse or gossip.

If James were alive today I think he would not only write tongue but also fingers! We use our fingers to deliver the message of our tongues all to often these days with email, facebook, twitter, and text. the things I read on facebook upset me so many times. For some reason we think it's okay to use acronyms for the things we shouldn't be using. That's okay, right? WRONG!!!!!!

Do we forget that God sees into our hearts and knows what our intentions are?????

I know I need to work on the way I talk to my husband and my daughters. I can definitely turn my tongue into a sword when I want to. I need to start taming it more.

The things we say and type have a HUGE effect on people! Words can make you laugh or they can make you cry. I hope to start making people smile and laugh more!

Father, Please help me tame my tongue and fingers. I want your words to pour from me and not the words of a sinful woman. Amen.