James 1:26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
James has keen insight into religious, church going people. Perhaps we should put this verse in big bold letters on the front door going into the church building. Sometimes people don’t know the difference between fellowship and gossip. I wonder how much of the latter actually takes place before or after the morning worship service. This verse should also be put on the door going out of the building. There are those who call themselves Christians and attend worship service on Sunday who talk like the world on Monday. Little swear or vulgar words slip out once in a while or they gossip further about others. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:29, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” If any we say violates this command, then we should not say it. In fact, we need to change our thought process that even leads to anything different.
Why must we watch our tongue? Because it is the biggest way that people will come to know what we believe, who God is, and the way to salvation. Our speech says a lot about what we think and believe. In fact, if what we say contradicts what we believe, then we really do not believe what we say. We are only fooling ourselves. But we are not fooling the people around us. This may be one of the reasons why Christians are often called hypocrites. To avoid this label, we must watch our speech and make sure that what we say is a testimony of the new life we have in Jesus Christ.
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