Have you said things you regret later? Were you able to recover and correct it later? Were they divisive and hateful words? Were you able to ask for forgiveness and reconcile later? Have you had others say hateful words to you? Have you forgiven them?
When we say things we wish we hadn’t, we can’t take them back. We can’t undo them. The hurtful and hateful words cannot be erased no matter what we do. The best we can hope for is the other person will forgive us and we reconcile the relationship.
How do we avoid saying things we wish we hadn’t? Rather than speaking what immediately comes to mind, stop, think, and be cautious about what we say. We also need to make it part of our inner being to love one another. Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. When we love one another in the same way Jesus loves us, our love will drive what we say.
We can still speak truth. We can tell people hard truths. But we will do so in such a way that they can feel the love we have for them. Because of the love we have for them, we won’t spew the hateful and hurtful words that only come from evil thoughts. Our words will come from a pure heart that cares for others and seeks to serve Jesus.
James makes no bones about our tongues. He states they are fire. They speak iniquity. Our tongues stain our entire bodies. They set off a fire of hell that creates divisions through hurtful language. We can only control it by learning to love as Jesus loves. We would do good to spend more time listening and less time talking.
I pray we all seek to control our tongues. I pray we recognize it stains us and causes harm when we speak hateful words. I pray each one of us learn to love one another as Jesus loves us. Control your tongue. Know it stains you. Know it harms others. Love as Jesus loves. Speak in love.
James 3:5b-6 How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Marty Pressey 