The Sharp Word After a Hard Day

You come home after a brutal day and someone asks a small question. Out comes a sharp answer you didn’t plan. Later you tell yourself it was the day’s fault.

James is honest about the tongue: “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” He doesn’t pretend we can manage it on our own.

But earlier in his letter, James says something that changes how we see the hard day itself. “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations,” because “the trying of your faith worketh patience.” The hard day isn’t an excuse. It is one of the trials God uses to show what is in us, and to grow patience.

And when we see what is in us, there is a way forward: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” Ask him. Before you walk in the door, ask him for wisdom and a gentle tongue.