James 3:2-6 -- On Watching our Words

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
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."
James 3:2-6


This is a good reminder that it is very important to control what we say. Exactly what to control is probably extensive philosophy about the best way to speak to others so as to encourage and uplift rather than inflame or belittle... we seem to bait or offend without realizing it sometimes because we're thinking more about what we want than we are about God's love for the person we're talking to. Those are interesting and important conversations, but not ones that I have mastered for sure, so mostly I suggest that we think about the overall idea and talk to God about it so that we can improve our overall communication strategy. Specifically, there are some smaller issues to work on though. In the footnotes it notes that Gossip and Profanity are associated with the tongue, and perhaps we can cut down on those things, both tongue-wise and finger-wise in this world where much of our communication is through typing. If we shouldn't say it, we also shouldn't type it. Today, let's work on eliminating profanity and gossip from our pallette of ways to paint the world around us, and listen to God as he teaches us both what to say and how to say it so that we can learn to be unfailingly good to others.