And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity: the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
I was watching a preacher on Television the other day, and as I watched, I began to notice his teeth. Not whether he had bad teeth, but what the teeth can do.
My thoughts went to how the teeth can act as a wall around the tongue to keep it still. James 3:9 tells us that; with it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
As I watched the Preacher speak, I began to think of how careful we have to be on listening to what message he is proclaiming. Behind those teeth is a tongue that can speak of the wonders of how God sent His only son to save us, or speak lies that do not proclaim the one true God.
It brought me back to my youth, when my parents used to say: “If you cannot say something nice about something or somebody, keep your mouth shut. With my mouth shut, my teeth would keep my tongue from becoming a member of my body defiling my whole body, and setting on fire the course of nature.
Proverbs 21:23 tells us: Whoever guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles.