He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. (Proverbs 21:23) Like the old carpenter's adage: Measure twice, cut once, the writer of James puts it this way: Be quick to listen, slow to speak (1:19). With two ears and one mouth, the wise person listens more than he/she talks. Personally, I have more often regretted speaking than holding my tongue. Mark Twain is credited with saying: Better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.
That's why God gave us a filter. The idea is that, rather than speak every thought that comes into one's mind, we engage the filter and it catches things we shouldn't say. That's the way it's supposed to work. But every once in awhile we forget to engage that filter, and before we know it, someone gets hurt. Sometimes we're the ones who get hurt, but on especially unfortunate occasions we hurt someone else.
James understands: No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (3:8).
We need help. God knows this is not a battle we're going to win on our own. Thankfully he comes to our assistance. He will help us guard our mouths to speak only words that are honoring to him, honoring to ourselves, and honoring to others.
How's your filter working?
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