It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue — it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.
James 3:5-7 The Message (MSG)
True
Honoring
Innapropriate
Necessary
K Christ-Like
With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
James 3:8-12 (The Message)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths [or your phones or tablets or computers], but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:20 New International Version (NIV)