Mind Your Tongue
James 3:9-12 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. Do good water and bad water flow from the same spring? Of course not. My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives? Or can a grapevine make figs? No, and a well full of salty water cannot give good water.
I don’t think there’s one of us who hasn’t said things that we later ended up regretting. If only we could take it back. If only we could un-say that stupid thing that came out of our mouths. But it doesn’t work like that.
What we say and how we say it is a window into our soul. You and I, we can put on a face, we can act all respectable and humble and godly, but at some point, we blurt something horrible out which shows the whole world what’s really going on inside.
I mean, you love God, right? You want to honour Him, but sometimes our tongues brings us unstuck.
James 3:9-12 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. Do good water and bad water flow from the same spring? Of course not. My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives? Or can a grapevine make figs? No, and a well full of salty water cannot give good water.
There’s not a single person you’ll ever meet, who hasn’t been created in God’s image, who isn’t loved to the same degree that God loves you. And to praise God in one moment, and then curse one of those whom He loves in the next is sheer hypocrisy.
Who are the people in your life whom you really, truly dislike? Perhaps it’s time to start praying that God will change your heart towards them. Perhaps it’s time to start focussing on your attitudes towards them. Because God loves them.
Oh, and mind your tongue.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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