Taming the Tongue

In James 3, the writer uses some very emphatic language to illustrate the power of the tongue. When we can control the tongue, we can do incredible things, but when we don’t watch what we say, we can do incredible damage. You can control the tongue and be a blessing to yourself and to the people around you. Or you can allow it to operate unchecked and possibly be a detriment to those around you. By doing so you may even endanger your own soul. Those are your options. So, are you taming your tongue? Taming the tongue is difficult. God has a standard for communication and making sure that you are living up to. It is a lifetime work. In verse 2, James says if you can control the tongue you can be perfect in everything else, too. That is how hard it is. Now we know the principles that are supposed to govern our speech. Usually, it is not out of ignorance that we miss the mark. We know to be slow to speak. We know to speak truth in love. We know to season our speech with salt. The key to taming the tongue is remembering to apply those principles every single time we communicate. We speak about 7,000 words a day, and we must apply these principles for every single word. That is why it is difficult. Can you commit to taking a step back to remember His principles for your speech? When conversations are emotionally charged, we are vulnerable. That is when we are likely to say something out of line. Remember your principles. Remember how much good you can do when you apply God’s standard for communication. If we can commit to taking a step back and applying the principles when emotions are high, we are giving ourselves a better chance of taming the tongue even when emotions are involved. Next time you are on social media, remember your principles. The concept that is being discussed in James 3 applies to all forms of communication. His standard applies whenever we are communicating. Social media is another area of vulnerability. Since we can respond so quickly it helps us bypass that step back that we need to take to apply God’s principles for communication. Do not fall for it. Remember how much we have on the line every time we communicate. Feelings can be hurt, relationships can be damaged, and worst of all, souls can be lost. Our souls are at risk any time we communicate poorly. Let us commit to taking a step back to remember that.