Taming the Tongue

James 3:7-8
 ³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise 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. ⁶The 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.
 ⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
 ⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt^[a] water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
 How often do the words that emit from my mouth "curse men"? When was the last time I spoke ill of someone? Yesterday? A couple hours ago? All too often I justify our ungodly and hurtful words of another with all kinds of reasoning. I'm right and they're wrong so I can speak of it to another. I want to share the issue to have others pray. I want to help the person so we're getting advice from another. They all seem like good reasons, yet I am still using my tongue to "praise our Lord and Father, and curse men".
   A house divided against itself cannot stand. Verse eleven says,"Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" It can't. It wasn't created that way and it's impossible for it to happen. Why then do I think it's okay to let praise and cursing come from the same spring? It is a house divided against itself and will not stand long. It will come back to bite me in the butt.
    If I are to live the life Christ intends for me and be who He calls usmeo be, I need to tame the tongue. But, you say, how can you tame the tongue when the Bible says it cannot be tamed by man? Only by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me and prompt me can the tongue be tamed. It's through His good work in me that I can overcome the evil that is the tongue.
   Ultimately, because men were created in God's likeness, if I speak ill of another person, I am speaking ill of God. Now that's convicting.