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The tongue is the basic reflection of our human nature. Verses 9-12 says, 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Our tongue should be a reflection of our changed heart.
Daily Devotion 
This was one of my favorite chapters during my teen years. The overt gossip, backstabbing etc…at that age is horrendous (somehow we just make it look better as adults, but it’s still just as bad if not worse). But this was my reminder on nearly a daily basis to watch my tongue. To not get involved with the gossip. To not tear other people down. It’s tough in my career choice to make sure that I pursue it with honor and wisdom. Basically, I have to overtly promote myself and tell everyone I audition for that I’m the best thing to ever walk through their doors. I’m supposed to network and schmooze to make people like me so they want to hire me. In the midst of that, it’s very tempting to put other singers down to make myself look better. Or if I don’t get hired, it’s a real challenge to not bad mouth those that did the hiring or comment on the inabilities of the ones hired. The entertainment industry can be so ruthless. God has really convicted me over the past several months that I cannot get involved in these types of conversations. It’s wrong. I’m tearing down someone else. It could just as easily be me who is being torn down by someone else who is upset that I got hired over them, and that’s not really loving someone as I love myself. And the promotion of self is a hard wire to walk. Yes, I have to promote myself, but when is it too much? That’s another lesson that God and I have been working on:). I’ve really backed off on the striving part and allowed God to present opportunities to me where I can present myself …and so far, it’s actually worked! Huh. Crazy, this whole obedience thing…ha! And my focus has switched from pushing my career forward to loving others first and foremost while I’m in pursuit of something that really is a vapor in the wind. And what’s been really interesting is that now that I have made that my focus, there have been so many opportunities to love people that I just never saw before because I was so engrossed in me and my pursuit. And it seems that this pursuit of loving God and loving people naturally leads to living out what James prescribes: live well, live wise, live humbly. Those are natural outpourings of a life of love.
Gee, Dino, you’d think you and I had been on a Francis Chan binge! ha!