From the Same Mouth Come Blessing and Cursing

With [the tongue] we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

- James 3:9-10, NRSV

As James reminds us, the tongue can be a very dangerous thing. I know that in my life, my tongue has gotten me into big trouble. I often speak out of emotion rather than take the time to think about the impact of what I am saying. In the heat of the moment, I would rather spout off some sarcastic comment than to try to speak words of grace and mercy. I misuse my tongue in idle chatter about things I know little or nothing about. I have been known to like to hear and repeat juicy gossip. I feel like I am the one that James is speaking directly to when he wrote the words above.
At the same time, my tongue can cause me to sin for what it doesn't do. Too often I remain silent when I should speak out against injustice. There are too many times when I bite my tongue rather than share how I really feel about something. There are too many times when I am a witness to evil and hatred and intolerance and I refuse to speak the truth because I'm more worried about what people might think about me.
The sad reality of my day is that there were moments when I heard others spewing poison from their mouths and I kept quiet. There were opportunities for me to stand up for those who are made in the likeness of God as they were being demeaned, degraded, and belittled, and I chose the safe, quiet path of least resistance. There were moments when I could have offered grace to the least of these with whom I work and instead I chose to be a smart-mouthed idiot.
James' words cut right to my heart and have silenced my tongue this evening. The voice that God has given me is a wonderful gift and a huge burden. It is the treasure by which I can praise my Creator or the terror by which I can inflict pain and brokenness on the world.
The Good News is that tomorrow is another day. I have a chance to start anew with a tongue that is created to praise my God. I hope and pray that when those moments of temptation come, I will speak when I need to speak and I will be silent when I need to be silent.
I hope you are having a great week. Thanks for being a part of my journey!