Taming the tongue!

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers (and sisters), this should not be!” James 3:9-10
“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” Proverbs 12:18

Cruel words, once spoken, cannot be unheard. Cruel words, once read, cannot be forgotten.
James, brother of Jesus, describes the tongue as “a world of evil among the parts of the body”, corrupting the whole person. When you think of the damage that thoughtless or deliberately nasty words can do, we know this to be true.
We were taught as children to say that ‘sticks and stones will break our bones, but words will never hurt us’. By not showing any sign of weakness to our tormentors, they were hopefully discouraged by our indifference. But, to pretend to be unaffected by verbal bullying leads to either behaving badly to others, and compounding the wrong, or withdrawing into misery and fear, both options far too common in the world today, which multiplies and spreads the original evil they came from.
We have all felt the pain of cruel words at some point in our lives. And yet, we can all too easily fall into the trap of being the one whose words are careless and damaging. And what about the words left unsaid? Sins of omission are just as painful, to people and to God.
Even words that we do not think to be cruel can still have the power to damage others – words of gossip and hearsay, “little white lies”, betrayed confidences, or ‘harmless’ jokes. Even the need to have a good grumble, to “get things off your chest”, can lead to spreading your negativity, and all these words that damage others become Sin.
But there is one way we can talk and say absolutely anything and everything – the anger, the pain, the fear, the worry, even the envy and scorn – and that is by talking to God, through prayer. Unburdening yourself to our Lord is never evil, for He understands us and knows our hearts, and will always listen, no matter what you say. But, do not expect Him to be to be impressed if you do not take responsibility for your thoughts and words and actions, or forget to ask for forgiveness for any harm your emotions may have unwittingly done!
Remember the words of James above – we are ALL of us, every one, made in God’s likeness. What we do unto others, we do unto Him. Look into the eyes of the person in front of you, whose words cause you pain, and find the spark of the Creator God within them. Then, see the denial of His Love that their poisonous tongues are fed by, and offer His Love to them, by deed or prayer.
Tame your tongue, and let it not cause harm. Instead, use it to shout His praises and spread the Word of His Glorious Love.
Amen.