The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 16:32 (HCSB)
32 Patience is better than power, and controlling one's temper, than capturing a city.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 119:4-6 (NKJV)
4 You have commanded us To keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments.
The Word of God for encouragement:
James 3:2 (HCSB)
2 for we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his whole body.
My observation:
The keyword in James chapter three is "tongue". The first century believers who James wrote were having a problem with the tongue. There are some things that don't seem to change.
James 1:26 (HCSB)
26 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself.
The problem with the tongue is a symptom of a deeper problem; the difficulty is with the heart, and not just the tongue.
James 3:14 (HCSB)
14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't brag and deny the truth.
We cannot manage the tongue ourselves; it is a too unruly member of our body. We need help, and unless we get help it will cause us no end of trouble.
James 3:8-10 (HCSB)
8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 We praise our Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God's likeness with it.
10 Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way.
We need God to enable us to control our tongue. We need to ask the Savior to help us become mature people who can control our whole body.
My prayer:
Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I make the prayer of the psalmist my prayer to you for help with not just the symptoms, but the whole problem. Father, change me from the inside out. In Jesus name, Amen.
Psalm 141:1-4 (HCSB)
1 LORD, I call on You; hurry to [help] me. Listen to my voice when I call on You.
2 May my prayer be set before You as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering.
3 LORD, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing or perform wicked acts with men who commit sin. Do not let me feast on their delicacies.
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Isaiah 55:11 (HCSB)
11 so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it ⌊to do⌋."
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