the tongue

"But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not be so." James 3:8-10

I read this passage one day several months ago, and it made me just stop reading in amazement. I read it as if I had never read it before in my life. The tongue is a deceitful thing! The middle part especially struck me hard. With our tongue we praise, worship, and give blessing to our Father God. But with the SAME tongue, we curse others. All the time, we say things against other people even when we don't realize it, like "he's crazy" or "i don't like her". Yet everyone is made in the image of God! Why do we expect great things from God when we constantly curse our friends and brothers? Try to remember the gentle reminder at the end.."my brothers, these things ought not be so." Our tongue should not be double-minded, cursing others, while at the same time blessing the Lord.

Pray for God to make your tongue to be used for a single ultimate purpose (because we cannot do it ourselves as the verse says)...using it to both bless the Lord, AND serve Him by encouraging and building up others.