"If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless" (James 1:26).
If we talk more than we listen, then it's a sure sign that we are deceiving ourselves. James says that those of us who think we are religious (spiritual) can actually disprove our religion by talking too much. James has been addressing listening vs speaking since verse 19. This is the eighth day in a row that we've addressed the importance of hearing vs speaking. I'm thinking that it must be important! James uses the imagery today of riding a horse. Our tongues, he says, should be bridled--controlled. Please understand it's not the horse who controls the bridle--it's the rider. In our case, God is the one who should be bridling our tongue--directing the direction of our words--or pulling back strongly and shouting "Whoa!" Bottomline: if you think that you are spiritual, and yet you talk more than you listen, then you are fooling yourself--God isn't really in control of your tongue--or anything else for that matter. By the way, "worthless" in the Greek means "vain, empty, useless, and dead".
Today, practice listening more than you speak. Start by letting God have the bigger part of your prayer-time. Listen to Him...and then listen to everyone else that he brings your way today.
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