“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain” (James 1:26).

Our words are bullets, and our tongues are the firearms that discharge them. Once at the First Baptist Church of Marilla, New York, I stood before the congregation ready to dismiss them from the morning service. I told them, “I am rather fearful today after preaching in the book of James. I realize that there are over 300 weapons loaded and ready to fire in the foyer today. Church family, I am speaking of your tongues!” We smiled together, and I made folks promise to be careful how they used their tongues. Many years later I told this story to the folks at the Central Baptist Church of Binghamton, New York. It’s good for us today as well. Before you speak (especially if you are provoked), stop and think of the word “TANK.” Are my words True (Ephesians 4:15), Acceptable to the Lord (Psalm 19:14), Necessary for me to say (Proverbs 10:32), and are they Kind (Ephesians 4:32)? TANK! I need to be thoughtful of this today. How about you?

For today: A bridled tongue is a good first step in living differently as a Christian. Let’s put it into practice today.