Leaders Watch Their Tongue:  James 3:10 “From the same mouth comes blessings and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”  Every one of us can relate to this verse at some or many times in our lives.  It happens in our every walk of life including our families, our work, our church and the community in which we live.  How many times have we said something that we wish we had not said?  It can come directly from our mouths as we see in this verse and it ought not to be so.  It can also come from social media, a text or an email.  Once spoken or released, words cannot be retracted and the impact will be either good or bad.  The Bible is replete and specific with many warnings about controlling our tongues.  Some people are more prone to give out blessings and encouragement, but others send out critical and biting words.  Being a confident and flaming type A personality, I have to really call on the Holy Spirit to help me control what comes out of my mouth.  How about you?

Sometimes the words may not be as important as the tone of voice and facial expressions that communicate them.  On more than one occasion, my wife has told me, “You should have seen your face when you said that or that my tone of voice was harsh and abrupt!”  We have to learn to control our words and how we convey them.  We come from different backgrounds and family histories that make it difficult to make adjustments.  However, we must all watch our tongues according to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.  Peter was rebuked for his tongue many times and then praised and empowered when he preached before the 3,000 on the day of Pentecost.  Have you ever said something that you knew was wrong and would be hurtful?  What do you do?  You pray that God will cover it and that it will die before it results in damage.  You may also need to go to someone and ask forgiveness for something you said.  Simply put, a leader learns to control his tongue and to ask God to use it as a tool for His glory and kingdom.