James 3:6-8 (KJV) 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
It seems that everywhere you look, someone is talking – either on their cell phones, emails, or social media! It’s as if that’s all anyone does nowadays – talk, talk, talk!
Proverbs says that in the multitude of words is sin. That’s because if you’re always talking, how can you be thinking about what you’re saying or even listening to the other person?
Proverbs 10:19 (KJV) 19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
How many times have you just blurted out something that you wish you hadn’t? But worse than that is that you can’t unsay it! Unguarded, unrestrained talk – loose lips – can do a lot of damage. And even though we ask forgiveness for saying things we’re ashamed of, we can’t undo what has already been said. Wrong words can really hurt. That’s why it behooves us to guard our lips!
God has a lot to say about the words of our mouths and keeping our tongue in check. In the above scripture, we see that no one can tame the tongue by natural means. But with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can get our tongues under control by yielding to Him.
Psalm 141:3 (KJV) 3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
We need to use our words to bless and not curse. Speaking evil is really cursing. It’s not just curse words that are evil; gossiping, backbiting, tale-bearing, making promises, and exaggerating are also evil. We need to speak the truth in love and lift up and edify each other.
One of the ways to keep our tongues in check is to think before we speak and not be talking all the time. We talk way too much! Just maybe, the other person has something to say! What a thought!
1 Peter 4:8b (KJV) 8 … for charity [love] shall cover the multitude of sins.
James 1:19 (KJV) 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath…
Speak words of kindness and watch how people react!
— Pamela
Pamela Moyle Ministries 