| MAY 3, 2012 -- I have had a difficult time coming up with a topic for this month. I awoke the other night and the following passage came to mind:
“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. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” James 3:5-12
If you have not read the book of James, I suggest you do so. It is a short book, but full of instruction. First and Second Timothy are good books for instruction also.
I think we all know of the great trouble that we get into because of something we say or even did not say. For many of us, our tongue works much faster than our brains. If we would stop to think what we were saying, we would probably not say it. How many of us know of friends that stopped talking because of something that was said without thinking. How many people have left the Grange because of the same thing. I have no numbers, I suspect there are many. People just do not stop coming to meetings or events for no reason.
How can we tame our tongue? I guess the answer is to think before we speak. Try to think how the person you are talking to will hear what you want to say. Be careful is some more advice we can all use.
I know I have learned to try to think before I speak. Many times I fail and that is when I get into trouble. Of course, the best course is to ask our God to help us master our tongue. |
