Lent and the Tongue

My kids and I saw a couple walking their dog yesterday, and he was on a leash that was only connected to his mouth, but this small lease controlled the whole dog. It made me think about the image that St. James uses in his epsitle about the tongue. The two images that he uses are a large ship being controlled by a rudder, and a large horse being controlled by a brittle. This is such a huge lesson for us, the power of the tongue.

If ever there was a great resolution for Lent, its to give up gossip and verbiage. Because I am learning more and more that our tongue controls so much of our Christian Life. Its a small part of our body, but its a rudder for the whole ship. This is such a struggle for me, but I know its the fasting that God seeks. To fast from speaking negatively at all. We will approach the whole day with joy, if we can win the battle of the tongue!