James 3:5-12

"Choose your words wisely, madame, for they may be your last."
Can you name that movie? The line spoken by Queen Marie to the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghant is found in the movie Ever After. The Queen discovers that she has been maliciously lied to and threatens to take the life of the Baroness.

My goodness, words are powerful. Are they not?

James 3:5-12
"So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! and the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water."

The things we say can affect people in deep ways and we may never even notice. Some people are so good at hiding how they feel you would never know anything is wrong. You may think you know someone and not realize how much they are hurting on the inside. A playful jab turns into a spiral of depression that they deal with later when they are alone. Depression opens the door to dark places that many think only exist in movies. We'd like to think the people close to us never experience pain or suffering. I wish that were the case...

Ephesians 4:29
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

I do not mean for this to sound dark or depressing (wouldn't that be ironic...), I only want to caution against speaking without thinking. Do not allow yourself to be controlled by your tongue and it's evils. I recently saw the despairing results of this in the life of a person i know. Speak kindly, even when you don't want to. Often times those who need to hear kind words are those whom you don't feel deserve them. We haven't deserved much we have receive in this world... our very life is a gift from our Maker.

Think twice before you speak.

God created them too.