​28. A Gentle Heart, a Gentle Tounge

Seek first to understand.

Well, ain’t that a doozy.

Sometimes, I want to seek first to judge. I get rubbed the wrong way, and I ride that wave of resentment for a moment, that “who do you think you are?” train that goes barreling deep in my gut.

It’s a lot harder to stay small and quiet. To ask the questions that birth the answers.

James is one of my favorite books. If I wrote a book of the Bible, I have a feeling it would look a lot like James. A straightforward understanding of our sinful tendencies and the antidote to all our troubles:

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

Taming the tongue. As James also says, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

Be careful with what you say, how you react. For God will use the same measure you use to judge others against you. And that’s not to say judging, in and of itself, is wrong. No, it’s just that the log must be plucked from your own eye before you can remove the speck from your brother’s.

And when you remove that speck, do it with a gentle heart, a gentle tongue.