Tame our tongues

Tradition has James, the brother of the Lord, wrote this Catholic epistle. True to his title, he addressed the readers of his epistle "my beloved brethren ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί" (James 1:16). The epistles written by Peter and Jude called the readers "beloved", those of John "my little children Τεκνία μου" (1 John 2:1). John must have written those epistles late in his life. Anyway, James' tone is unassuming, treating his readers his equals. His words are wise and comfortable to read. Today, James deals with our tongues. Had I read it earlier, I would not have made a regrettable mistake in dealing with Eddie. I hope I will not make similar stupid mistakes anymore.
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness (James 3:1).
Woe to me. I make my living as a teacher and have committed myself to be judged with greater strictness. No Mark Six. No AV. No, no, no! These are minor things. Rather, tame my tongue! This little rascal brings me a lot of regrets.
For we all make many mistakes, and if any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also (James 3:2).
James is very considerate. He does not put himself above all. "We" all make many mistakes. Yet, he sets before us the target of perfection: Make no mistakes in what we say. Then he proceeds to compare our tongues with the bits in the mouths of horses and rudders of ships. If we are able to bridle the tongue, we have full mastery over our body.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!
And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell. (James 3:5b-6)
but no human being can tame the tongue -- a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so (James 3:8-10).
Indeed, the tongue has no heart of its own. Rather, it is our heart that we should tame. Make our mind sincere, then we will be able to steer our heart to the right direction 誠意、正心. Unfortunately, in our daily life, we often poison our hearts with anger, bitterness, complacency, greed, jealousy, lust and pride, to name just a few. We need a better ecology to nourish our hearts. It is really a life-long battle to fight.
Coincidentally, Confucius also touched upon the issue of the tongue. While James focused on gossiping, Confucius focused more on public administration. It is a long passage and worth quoting in full.
定公問一言而可以興邦，有諸？
孔子對曰：言不可以若是其幾也。人之言曰，「為君難，為臣不易。」如知為君之難也，不幾乎一言而興邦乎？
曰：一言而喪邦，有諸？
孔子對曰：言不可以若是其幾也。人之言曰，「予無樂乎為君，唯其言而莫予違也。」如其善而莫之違也，不亦善乎？如不善而莫之違也，不幾乎一言而喪邦乎？【論語‧子路】
Of course, the above context applies to rulers of a country. If the rulers pay attention to a word of wisdom, appreciating the complexity of ruling a country, that word of wisdom will surely render the country prosperous. If the rulers only adhere to some ideologies, ignoring people's plights that glare at their eyes, those ideologies will surely ruin the country.
Now, does it apply to our life in the society, in our family and ourselves? I think it does. Our words can be edifying. They can also be self-annihilating. Therefore, let us speak more edifying words to build up more gratifying relationships, a more harmonious society.

My Advocate, You read our hearts. Burn away the vices in our heart and cool its sores. Let praises and blessings flow naturally out from our tongues.
Our Lady, you seldom speak but keep all things and ponder over them in your immaculate heart. Help your children in this wailing valley to follow your model and tame their hearts and tongue. Amen.