If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well...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!...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 come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

James, in his usual succinct fashion, captures the central role of the tongue as an instrument of obedience and disobedience. That organ, so small in comparison to many other parts of the body, serves as the outlet for much of the evil that resides within me. Likewise, from time to time, the Spirit uses that small muscle to move the Kingdom of Heaven.

Lord, bring about more of you and less of me. Use my tongue for Your work.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 137

Mid-day: 119:73-80

Evening: Psalm 62

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