A long passage, I know, but please, bear with me and read the whole thing. "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. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom."
James 3:2-13
My tongue! Ugh! It get's me into so much trouble!!! I've recently discovered, though I haven't looked any further into it, that one of my "languages" is the language of consideration. I want others to be comfortable...always. Well, I'm not going to say I'm never ever selfish and don't ever want my way but, for the most part, this is who I am. So when I see others who aren't like this I get so annoyed! I mean, how hard can it be to consider this person? It's really not that hard. So in my annoyance at someone else's fault...I proceed to stumble upon a fault of my own. My tongue. Is this fault really any "better" than the fault that seems so easy to me? No.
I've recently been considering writing a blog about glorifying the Lord. I great topic that I might still write about sometime in the near or far future but...I can't help but see right now that I have a lot of work to do in the area of glorifying the Lord in every moment of my day. Maybe not when it comes to caring for other people, but when it comes to my tongue? Yeah, lots of work to be done there. So this is me, being open and vulnerable by telling you what I'm struggling with instead of some broad subject that is so true but also so...broad. Watch your tongue, ladies (and gents). It can get you into a lot of trouble very quickly.
A favorite verse of mine, that I'm thinking I need to pull out again and remind myself of, is Proverbs 31:26.
"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."
Now that is a tongue problem I wouldn't mind having. :-)
With Prayers,
Sarah