James’ Guide to Life is a series on James’ advice for surviving life as a Christian: getting on with one another and avoiding being eaten by wild beasts in the jungle of life.

Elephants, lions, hyenas and snakes can all be tamed; but the human mouth…that’s a different matter.

Whether you are happy, angry or desperately want to prove a point, your tongue is done speaking before you even realise that your lips parted. Or you have posted that comment on Facebook, or sent that text message without being aware of it, as if you zoned out to another reality for that thirty seconds it took to parrot damage. Then, you begin to beg the ground to open up and swallow you.

The words you utter with your mouth, the pen and the keyboard could mean life or death. Words are not just words. They are not trivial entities. Any tabloid journalist understands the power of words – that’s why their newspapers sell.

In truth, James’ advice on speaking well could also be called thinking well because the tongue will only say what’s going on in your mind at that moment. A mango tree will only produce mangoes.

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Sometimes you blurt out hurtful words and quickly say, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean it”. That’s one of the most common lies in human communication. A lot of the time, you meant what you said. You just regret causing hurt or getting into trouble.

A true and sincere heart will produce true and sincere words that will give life to its world. To engage in the incredibly difficult feat of taming the tongue, you must also tackle the more treacherous mountain of training your thoughts.

Having trouble training your thoughts? Speak positive words of God’s truths to yourself and your thoughts will align to those words, and in turn, produce words that will give life to others.

Life is diverse with different characters and intensions everywhere you turn. As you interact with others in your long walk through the jungle, the key to peace is in your mouth.

People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue.
James 3:7-8

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