Reading your Bible for today January 25

January nuary 25 : James 3:3-10
Key Verse : James 3:8

But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Devotion :
How many people have you called two-faced, but not to their faces? How many people have you called liars, but not to their faces? How many people have done the same to you? How many times have you said one thing to one person and another to another? We all seem to have a problem with our mouths at one stage or another – be it the things that we say under duress, or the things that we do not say.

There are many small things in life that can change big things. Take the bit in a horse’s mouth; small, but effective. Or the rudder on a ship, small but equally effective. Each can be used to great effect, but similarly if they are used in the wrong manner they can be used with dire consequences! Our mouths are those small things in our lives that can be used effectively, or disastrously!

We have all seen the cartoons of people with large noses being seen approaching corners because of their noses, but in truth what we have is a string of words coming out of our mouths that can be heard before we are seen. The effects of those words are going to travel much quicker than we can. When we say something wrong, everyone gets to hear about it before we can try patch up the mistake. We cannot grab the words in mid-air to take them back. People would already have been making up their minds about us before we can have a change to explain.

The more we allow to come out of our mouths, the more we think they are normal and the more we are willing to allow them to come out! But if we were able to hear ourselves talking, maybe we would start to think twice about the things we say. People are not able to hear our thoughts, but they can hear our words. We can think “good” as much as we like, but unless the same goodness is going to flow out of our mouths, we are not going to be able to convince people of our true intentions. Too many times people get the wrong idea just because we let something out during a time of stress. Take a second before you speak!

Points to Ponder :
How many friends think they have been let down with what they think has been said by you?

Where do people’s opinions of you come from?

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