The Epistle of James gives us the secret of being perfect: “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man” – James 3:2 NIV. The fact is, words are the audible expression of our inner life and heart. Once spoken, they cannot be erased. They paint indelible pictures on the minds of our hearers.

It is interesting that in the list of seven things God hates recorded in Proverbs 6:16-19, three relate to the tongue: a lying tongue, a false witness, and sowing discord. Morgan Blake, a writer for the “Atlanta Journal,” wrote the following: “I am more deadly than the screaming shell from the howitzer. I win without killing. I tear down homes, break hearts, and wreck lives. I travel on the wings of the wind.