James 3:1-12
1Not 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.
James 1:26
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your religion is worthless.
“Be sure to taste your words before you spit them.”
“Words and hearts should be handled with care for words when spoken and hearts when broken are the hardest things to repair.”
“Don’t mix bad words with your bad
mood. You’ll have many opportunities to change your mood, but you’ll
never get the opportunity to replace the words you’ve already spoken.”
Talk happiness; talk faith; talk
health. Say you are well and all is well with you, and God shall hear
your words and make them true.” -Ella Wheeler Wilcox
