No man can tame the tongue, the Bible tells us (James 3:8-9). With it we praise God and with it we also curse men. It corrupts the whole person and sets the course of his life on fire, James wrote (verse 6). We have all wanted to bite our tongues from time to time when things spilled out that we never intended. It takes practice and forethought to learn how to properly express what is in our minds.

The actions that words set in motion may not be to our liking. We cannot take back our words—so the far better course is to choose our words wisely. Proverbs 25:11 states that a word "fitly" spoken is like apples of gold in a silver setting. We tell our children to think before they speak. That is great advice.