Tame the Terrible Tongue

When I was a kid, my mom and I would stay up late and watch movies together. We enjoyed the classics, the war pictures, and of course, the Westerns. I am sure it was in one of those movies that I first heard the expression, "forked tongue."

I found that the "Indianism" was really used in the late 1700's to indicate a liar or a deceiver. It was first found in written form, and used to describe the Indian's relationship with government attorneys. They thought they lied, who would have guessed it?

So how can we tame the terrible tongue? James has some lessons I shared from this past Sunday's message:

1. Be quick to listen, and slow to speak- James 1:29

2. Keep a tight rein on your tongue- James 1:26

THINK

T- is it true?

H- is it helpful?

I- is it inspiring?

N- is it necessary?

K- is it kind?

3. Refuse to tear others down- James 4:11; 5:9

4. Speak only what is true- James 5:12

5. Pray for God's help in taming the tongue- James 3:8

Let's all realize that what we say and how we say it is incredibly important. You possess the "power of life and death" in the tongue (Prov. 18:21).