A Consistent Tongue

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” –James 3:9-10

One of the easiest things to do is to come to church on Sunday morning, sing praises to God, and then walk right out the door and start speaking negatively of others. We see an exceptionally rowdy child and we slander the parenting skills of the child. We hear a rumor about a person that we look down upon, and we play the telephone game and pass it on. We get into an argument with someone, and before we know it, we are telling them all of the areas where they are failing in their lives.

Sometimes we justify the things we say because we know that what we are saying is true. The parents really are that bad. The person really is bringing this upon themselves. And hey, I’m just being honest with this person to their face rather than talking behind their backs. But the problem is that it isn’t the character of the other person that James is talking about. It is our character that is supposed to be setting the standard. James encourages us to recognize the image of God in each person—it is put there by God, not by a person’s achievements.

So, how consistent is your tongue? Does it sound as edifying during the rest of the week as it does on Sunday morning? God desires that we worship him, but not just when we sing songs. God also desires that the way that we speak of others would be holy and pleasing to him as well.