What words come out of your mouth? In James 3, we are challenged to consider our speech, because it is a reflection of our heart. Careful examination of the passage shows that bitterness comes up in this passage. This leads us to a question, are we incensed at the thought that we could be poisoning our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors with our words? The good news is that the gospel is powerful enough to impact even the way we speak. The challenge of bitter speech is that it is a universal problem. All of us struggle with this issue. James 3:2 reminds us that “we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.” Yet we are reminded in James 3:8 “no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison.” We need to evaluate how much time we put on discerning whether our words are pleasing to God and free of sinful bitterness. The power to overcome comes through the transformation that comes to anyone who puts their faith in the Word of God, and the indwelling Spirit that applies that Word to our hearts. Take time to evaluate your words and see if they need to have a heart transformation.
