One of the hardest things to do is learn to control the tongue (as James 3 attests). It has been said, “We take 2 years to learn to talk and 60 years to learn when to shut up.” Oh, our tongues – “what a world of iniquity” (Jas. 3:6). What we don’t realize, sometimes, is that controlling our words and what we say is not limited to our vocal cords and tongues, but it must reach down to our very fingertips. Our fingertips are often more likely to type things that our tongues would never utter, because we feel “protected” in the ease of our homes or offices.
The wisdom of God declares, “He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit” (Prov. 17:27). While some “sharpen their tongue like a sword” and “aim bitter speech as their arrow” (Psa. 64:3), in order to strike, others learn to spare their words. That’s the difference between one “hasty in his words” (Prov. 29:20) and one who “studies how to answer” (Prov. 15:28). Are you better at spares or strikes?