Tame


"People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:7-8

"Don't say it! Don't say it! Don't say it! ... Oops, I said it." There are too many moments in my life where all the self talk in the world could not keep my mouth shut. Inevitably, this failure to keep quiet necessitates a sheepish apology. Unfortunately, my family is most often the unwanted beneficiary of my discouraging words. I didn't want to be negative and hurtful, but I was. Maybe you are familiar with this struggle..??

In our verses for the day, James lays it out clearly and concisely. It's just his style. "You ... cannot ... tame ... your ... tongue." It's restless. What a great descriptor! Left unchecked, the evil tongue will spew a destructive poison. Isn't that the truth!? Now what? Jesus, James brother, weighs in at this point in the conversation, "With God all things are possible." Even, you guessed it, the taming of our tongues. 

Some of us are unaware or in denial about how negative our words are. Others are frustrated to the point of just giving up and accepting the fallout from the verbal explosions. The good news is there's hope! It's not found in us. It's found in the character and the attributes of God himself. He is love. His power is immeasurable. Surrendered to him our words can and will produce healing and not hurt, life and not death, joy and not sorrow. Sounds great! Where do we sign up? On our knees in a quiet place. There, Jesus speaks healing to our wounded hearts. 

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